Metal treatment: tarnish & polish

[Cliff Boyer]

I'm very close to getting my 15' Lyman back in the water.

I made new splash/rub rails out of African mahogany and will finish bright. To make removal easier I'm not going to bung the screw holes. How can I tarnish the silicon bronze to make it look weathered. I think this would look nicer than the shinyness of new SB.

Also, putting new brass halfoval on the stem. I want this to be polished up. Would it make sense to spray a clear lacquer on it?

Thanks,
Cliff

[Bob Cleek]

It doesn't pay to put lacquer on anything you want brite. Getting it off is a bitch and it always looks phoney anyhow. If you want it bright, polish it regularly, which is why you don't see a lot of bright polished chafe strips. As for the screw heads... give them a week. They'll turn brown soon enough.