Restore or not?

[Birdseye]

I was wondering what the thinking here is about the appropriate level of restoration for an object.

As a case in point I have a Nordenfelt projectile. Would you folks clean the brass?

I guess that if I had something that was rare rare rare I wouldn't touch it but for more common items, I would try to make them more attractive. If that means polishing the brass a bit or brushing rust off of steel, so be it.

I guess I am sort of interested in the philosophy.

 

[Chris 42 RQ]

Nice item !

Hi Birdseye that is a nice little item !

Personally I would be a little hesitant to perform a major clean up on it until I had established how common or rare it is.
If it is common then I would go for the "full clean up" option but if rare, then as you say probably best not to interfere with any originality.

Some one here will tell you how rare or otherwise it is.

Chris :tinysmile_shy_t:

 

[Weasel]

It is a difficult one to answer, i tend not to polish or tidy up to much if i can avoid it aside from the hours of time needed to keep on top of it all. I have a few rounds that could be given a new paint job and i am sure they would look stunning but is it better to have original paint even if it is only a small part....? Personal preference i guess. As for the Nordenfelt round not sure how rare they are i bought one with a case recently not to cheaply, only because i had not seen many for sale in good nick over the years.
Regards Weasel.

 

[tigbrand]

1 Inch Nordenfeld

Hi Birdseye. Your projectile is in good nick.Remove all the corrosion spots with an item of softer metal ie a bronze coin and leave it alone.a rub of beeswax wont hurt after the shine has gone off the treated areas.the best protection for brass is the patina that builds with time and handling.Ive mentioned this before,but check out the IAA site http://www.cartridgecollectors.org/guide.htm#cleaning Tony.:tinysmile_fatgrin_t