cast iron door knocker

Electrolysis. Search this ng, rec.woodworking, or the web. It's dead easy and gives good results.

You'll never get cast iron to be "shiny", as the material is too inhomogeneous to really take a polish. Generally a dull grey is the best you can achieve.

Personally I'd use a black bituminious paint, either truck chassis paint thinned down a bit, or "Black Jack" bitumen primer from Screwfix (dead handy stuff). The Victorians would have finished it in black. Possibly red or dark green, and maybe even coachlined in cream or gold leaf, but not usually for door furniture.

Hi Jim

Don't think you will ever get it shiny, but thats not how it would have looked originally anyway. Have it bead blasted, like shotblasting but with glass beads. Or shotblasting with a fine grit.

I'd go for black like Andy said. Hamerite Smooth?

Dave

Many ages ago people shined up their cast iron grates with stuff called Zube which was a graphite based polish in a lead toothpaste type tube and you got a special brush from Woolworths, bit like a shoe brush, to put it on with . I don't think this is still on the market but it was very effective.

rusty

Zebo, or Zebrite, I think. Still around locally; but I'd go for the painting option. I'm sure the Victorians wouldn't have used it on their door knockers!

David

AKA black lead, fireplaces for the cleaning.

Zebo - still common today. It's a black colour, but it's not a polish. The graphite is in oil so it's pretty much impossible to shine it (it also wipes off on your fingers). If you want a shine, find a _wax_ with graphite in it. Neither of these would protect against outdoor rust though.

Put the thing on a bonfire. Let the bonfire go out and the ash cool until you can handle your knocker with your bare fingers. Go over it with a wire brush, the sort with a wooden handle and several rows of bristles, not a rotary one! Place the brush on the metal and oscillate it, don't scrub in one direction like a scrubbing brush. This will get all traces of paint and rust off it.

I suppose you could varnish it, or go at it with some Zebo or something, although you'd have to re-do the latter every so orten. You won't be able to polish it bright-n-shiney-silver, it will be grey. Hmm, yes, try blacking it, you can always re-treat it if that doesn't work.

How come the Gallery (and other) selection of reproduction cast iron fireplaces have polished shiny silver details?

think its still around...

Zubes were cough sweets made by F W Hampshire's in Derby, sold with the catchy slogan: "Go, suck a Zube!"

Thanks to you all for your helpful advice.

Jim