Finally completed the restoration of the Navy gun crew training round for VFW Post 6158, if Fair Oaks, California, and I can say with little false modesty that it turned out beautifully!
The suggestions I got from several of you helped a lot, and for that I thank you!
The round itself has been re-stained with an oak finish and has a polyurethane clear coat to keep it looking good for years to come. The steel bits are fully polished to a mirror shine (that was a lot of work, let me tell you!), and waxed to prevent oxidation. After polishing it the first time, I’d left it unprotected while I finished the mount, and discovered to my dismay that the steel was cloudy-looking after only a couple weeks.
I considered getting an automotive clear coat, but the additional equipment and procedures for that are out of my price range and skill set, so I had to set that aside as an option. I’m hoping the wax will at least last six months or so. It can be reapplied fairly simply, so it shouldn’t be to hard to maintain.
Appropriately enough, I completed the project on Veterans Day. I hope to have it mounted on the wall at the VFW before the next month’s meeting on Tuesday.
It was a really fun project, and I already have the next one lined up, a pair of brass 105 mm shells I collected in Afghanistan back in 2013, that I will be polishing up and mounting on a pair of small shelves, kind of like “sconces”. I’ll be sure to put up a progress report when they start looking better. Right now they are pretty nasty-looking, having been stored in the garage for all this time.
Thanks for reading and subscribing, all you girls and guys! It’s people like you who make this worthwhile!
Thank you!
Well done sir! WELL DONE!