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Anyone polish their vise?

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My lovely wife just got me a new Renzetti Traveler for Christmas, and I got it all set up last night. I'm pretty excited to put it to use, however, the finish is a bit more dull than I had expected. I envisioned bright aluminum and gleaming brass - on mine the brass is darkened, and the aluminum looks dull and chalky. Has anyone taken a cloth and some polish and shined theirs up? Any reason not to?

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I had my friend ,who works as a tool n die guy, take apart, re-surface the inside & outside of the jaws, re-tap &

replace the screws, oil all moving parts & paint the stem & base plate winter camouflage.

he also painted my regal stem n base the same.

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I have a Regal Medallion, black finish. A couple of times a year, I wipe a VERY thin coat of light oil all over the jaws and stem. More of a maintenance thing, but it does brighten it up quite a bit.

You might try contacting Renzetti and ask them about it.

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WARNING!!! If you polish it all up. The glare from your light WILL make it harder on your eyes. That's why some vises like the new Renzetti Traveler an Griffen Montana Mongoose are black. Too stop light glare!!!! I have made several custom vises , and the one thing you DO NOT WANT is shinny parts glaring back at you. There is a reason for the dull. Trust me on this one. Do you want a fly tying tool or a art piece. If you want a tool. Don't polish it. If you want something pretty to look at, go for it. But I tell you when you get a light for your tying area,(and you will) you will see what I mean. I tell you that any pro tyer will back me up on this one. LIGHT PLUS SHINNY EQUALS GLARE BACK IN YOUR FACE !!

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I also have a Regal Medallion. I used to use paste wax from time to time to clean it, but now I just spray a little silicone spray on a paper towel and wipe it down every once in a while. I do it more often in the summer, since the dew point is way up there. I have a de-humidifier in my tying room, but it's still not quite dry enough to keep the vise stem perfectly rust free without a wipe or two now and then June through August. A jewelry polishing cloth works well on those brass Edgin hair stackers too !

 

Regards,

Mark

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It's not going to hurt it if you want to polish it. The glare might be a problem but if you want it shiney then there is nothing stopping you.

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I am with SILKHKH on this subject. The dulling of Brass isn't a problem unless the vise sits unused so long that it

begins to look like a statue that has been outdoors for years.

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Even before I read SILKHKH's post, my thought was ARGH! GLARE! Every once in a while I'll disassemble my vice clean it with a soft cloth and oil the working parts. That's all.

Cheers,

C.

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You can easily knock back the glare to a satin finish using a bit of black earth -- there is another common name that escapes me

right now -- and a bit of oil on a cloth. Then WD 40 it.

 

It also removes crud from brass. I used it on an encrusted used Nor Vise I got recently.

 

Rocco

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I think a shiney vise is a bad idea. I don't think you'll be able to see the fly because of the glare off a polished vise.

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Someone posted a really mirror shiny brass vise on here and all I thought was it must be beautiful on the shelf but terrible to tie on.

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I guess what they say is true, if you polish it too much you could go blind laugh.png

 

Winner winner chicken dinner! wink.png

 

I have a clouser traveler and I have to tell you it's as dull as can be. Even if you polish a your vise, unless you plan on sealing the finish it will cloud up again. My Nor-Vise started out with shiny brass bits that have become dull with use, the medallion on my Regal…same thing. I like to think of it as well seasoned.

 

BTW, your wife rocks. Good for you!

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related question, how do you store your vise, I want to store my old vise. It is a junker but I don't want it a hunk of rust if I need it some time

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Like any tool that you are not using for a while, a light spray with WD40 and wrap in waxed paper. Then store it somewhere dry. You can get "inhibiting oil" which dries like a wax coating but for a vice this is overkill. Don't forget where you put it!

Cheers,

C.

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