pylon1357 Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 Ok, so the topic makes me sound more of a moron than I actually am. BUT, I was wondering, looking about at many of the brass shell casings here and elsewhere, I see many of them have been polished to a high shine. Why? I have that 105 shell casing in the basement. It is dirty and somewhat grimy and even a little bent at the neck. I would like to leave it this way, but my wife says I must polish it up if I ever want to show it off on the main floor. So I have relegated it to a life in the basement, until I finally get a room to show off my stuff. Photos to follow. I thought I took pictures but guess I didn't 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve T Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 It all depends @pylon1357. The only reason I shine some of mine up is because that is how I bought them. As they were already shiny, I can see no point in letting them go dull, so I polish them once a year. However! Ground dug shells that I have recovered myself I NEVER shine up, because I like them to retain their aged patina. The ones I find myself have their history intact. I know where they were found so know roughly who used them and where they have been for the last 70+ years. The shiny ones I've bought their history is lost, so having them shiny, in my eyes, makes them better display pieces. In the end, it's up to you what you do with them. Here are two examples of the difference. The aged one was found on a battlefield site in eastern europe, (part of lend lease supplies), and the shiny one from a carboot. The aged one will never get any cleaner than it is, (although I could make it shiny if I wanted to), and the carbooter will stay shiny. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Major General Waffenamt Posted June 14, 2016 Major General Share Posted June 14, 2016 Ive bought a few few that have been polished,but i much prefer original patina. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spaceinvader Posted June 15, 2016 Share Posted June 15, 2016 Most of mine are in their original condition. I have a Canadian 3"50 casing that looks absolutely horrid, stains, patina that is not even but I wont polish it because it still has its original ink stamps on the side which polishing will remove. The only casing I have ever polished was a Canadian 20pdr that at some point was a lamp. Had lead solder on it, dents, and an awful patina and corrosion and had also been previously polished. It looks good now and is very presentable. The interesting thing is though, while polishing it I was actually able to find a faint outline of the original markings and I hope to stamp them back on at some point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Police Collector Posted June 17, 2016 Share Posted June 17, 2016 They weren't all shiny and polished during use so leave them as they are, polishing devalues them! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pylon1357 Posted June 17, 2016 Author Share Posted June 17, 2016 Thanks to everyone who has replied. I didn't have any serious thought of polishing it up. It is just not something I do. Here are some photos I just took of this casing. One thing I am wondering about... the paint on the base, should I remove it and repaint it, or leave as is. Many of the stamps on this base are hard as heck for my old eyes to read. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve T Posted June 18, 2016 Share Posted June 18, 2016 Leave them. Original markings, even if feint, are far better than repainting them. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Register for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now