Restore Mills No 5 Lever to original brown shellac

[Alan Alfred]

Hi all. I am trying to complete a project. Recently I purchased a grenade. I cleaned the shell and lightly repainted over with a thin new coat of shellac. It is now a lovely dark brown colour. I replaced the centre piece, spring, striker, ringpull, and base. I have aquired an original lever. I have cleaned this lever to bare metal, the question is how do I match the lever (silver) to the colour of the grenade dark (brown)? I have tried just painting with a few coats of shellac but it is just not dark enough. Any ideas?

 

[paul the grenade]

Hi Alan.
I recently restored a sectioned No5. There was a small section missing which i replaced with car body filler. I then painted the repair in a dark brown paint before i shellaced it. this blended the repair to the body and you could not tell where it was. maybe a light coat of paint on your lever will have the same effect.
Cheers, Paul.

 

[Alan Alfred]

Hi thanks - what colour exactly and what type of paint?

 

[paul the grenade]

Hi Alan. I Used this readily available spray paint from halfords. I sprayed on very light coats till I got the correct shade then gave its coat of varnish. Cheers. Paul.
http://www.bocn.co.uk/vbforum/threads/78357-Sectioned-Mills-No5-restoration