I have a beautiful classic Blakes toilet in very good working condition
but fair exterior appearance. It is all made of marine grade bronze and
originally mostly painted and partly chrome plated. I am presently
brushing all the paint off and wondering what to do next.
1) paint again with... what?
2) have everything chrome plated.
3) clean well and leave the bronze as it is.
3) coat the cleaned bronze with a transparent coating. Which one?

Personally I would choose not to paint it in white again but all kind of
advices are very welcome.

Daniel

Daniele Fua wrote:
I have a beautiful classic Blakes toilet in very good working condition
but fair exterior appearance. It is all made of marine grade bronze and
originally mostly painted and partly chrome plated. I am presently
brushing all the paint off and wondering what to do next.

You have a real treasure! Blakes toilets are the best manual toilets in
the world, designed to last at least a century if at least marginally
well maintained. At today's rate of exchange, a new "Baby Blake" would
run about $2000 USD...the Blake "Victory" more than $3000. So my advice
is your choice #3:

clean well and leave the bronze as it is.

Also inspect the parts in the pump and replace what's needed. If you
don't have a manual for it, you can get one from Blakes. A "spares kit"
may cost you more than the price of most compact toilets, but definitely
worth it!

As for where to get parts if you need them, click on the "distributors"
link to find a distributor in your part of the world.

--
Peggie
----------
Peggie Hall
Specializing in marine sanitation since 1987
Author "Get Rid of Boat Odors - A Guide To Marine Sanitation Systems and
Other Sources of Aggravation and Odor"
http://shop.sailboatowners.com/boat_odors/

I meant to include a link to Blakes in my previous reply...here it is:
http://www.blakes-lavac-taylors.co.uk/index.htm

Peggie Hall wrote:
Daniele Fua wrote:
I have a beautiful classic Blakes toilet in very good working
condition but fair exterior appearance. It is all made of marine
grade bronze and originally mostly painted and partly chrome plated. I
am presently brushing all the paint off and wondering what to do next.

You have a real treasure! Blakes toilets are the best manual toilets in
the world, designed to last at least a century if at least marginally
well maintained. At today's rate of exchange, a new "Baby Blake" would
run about $2000 USD...the Blake "Victory" more than $3000. So my advice
is your choice #3:

clean well and leave the bronze as it is.

Also inspect the parts in the pump and replace what's needed. If you
don't have a manual for it, you can get one from Blakes. A "spares kit"
may cost you more than the price of most compact toilets, but definitely
worth it!

As for where to get parts if you need them, click on the "distributors"
link to find a distributor in your part of the world.



--
Peggie
----------
Peggie Hall
Specializing in marine sanitation since 1987
Author "Get Rid of Boat Odors - A Guide To Marine Sanitation Systems and
Other Sources of Aggravation and Odor"
http://shop.sailboatowners.com/boat_odors/

On Oct 12, 9:50 am, Daniele Fua wrote:
I have a beautiful classic Blakes toilet in very good working condition
but fair exterior appearance. It is all made of marine grade bronze and
originally mostly painted and partly chrome plated. I am presently
brushing all the paint off and wondering what to do next.
1) paint again with... what?
2) have everything chrome plated.
3) clean well and leave the bronze as it is.
3) coat the cleaned bronze with a transparent coating. Which one?

Personally I would choose not to paint it in white again but all kind of
advices are very welcome.

Daniel

Peggy left out the better option. Wrap it up and send it to me!
I don't understand it.
She always leaves that option out!
Seems perfectly reasonable to me!

tomdownard wrote:

Wrap it up and send it to me!

Great suggestion! If you send me your checking account coordinates I
will make an electronic transfer for being so kind to accept the
toilet... :-)

Apart from jokes, I am surprised that nobody has given me some
suggestion on how to treat bronze. Frankly, I am not familiar with it
and I am sure that people in this NG could be of great help.
What I would like to know if there are special tricks to clean a bronze
surface an keep it shiny.
Is it possible to coat it with transparent epoxy, for example? Is a
primer required? Should I have the surface sanded?
The item will be under deck, no UV but with salty water running inside
and occasionally seeping out.
I wonder if I could epoxy coat also the inner parts like the cylinder of
the pump.

Daniela,
Bronze is nice because you don't have to maintain it, so a patina is normal,
leave it be. If you insist on cleaning it up, try a fine scotch-brite pad
and then Brasso. It is hard work, but will look very nice. To preserve the
polish as long as possible, use Johnsons floor wax. You must use several
coats. You will notice the first coat will act as a detergent flushing the
residual polish that remains in the surface of the bronze. The application
of any clear coat paint will eventually fail and really make a mess, so
don't do it.
Steve

"Daniele Fua" wrote in message
. ..
I have a beautiful classic Blakes toilet in very good working condition but
fair exterior appearance. It is all made of marine grade bronze and
originally mostly painted and partly chrome plated. I am presently brushing
all the paint off and wondering what to do next.
1) paint again with... what?
2) have everything chrome plated.
3) clean well and leave the bronze as it is.
3) coat the cleaned bronze with a transparent coating. Which one?

Personally I would choose not to paint it in white again but all kind of
advices are very welcome.

Daniel

Daniele Fua wrote:

The item will be under deck, no UV but with salty water running inside
and occasionally seeping out.

That shouldn't happen! If it does, the toilet is in need of maintenance
or repair!

I wonder if I could epoxy coat also the inner parts like the cylinder of
the pump.

No no no! Coating it with anything will change the inner diameter,
causing seals, o-rings etc not to fit properly. Don't use anything to
clean the inside of the cylinder that can scratch the metal.

If the inside of the pump cylinder is crusty with sea water minerals,
remove all the parts and soak the cylinder in distilled white vinegar
overnight.

Once it's clean, the only thing the pump cylinder needs is lubrication
to protect the rubber o-rings, seals etc from wear. While you have it
apart, just before closing it up, squirt about 3 ml. of thick teflon
grease into the cylinder...pump a few times to spread it all over the
inside of the cylinder...that's it. Every few weeks, put a tablespoon or
two (any more than that will just wash out) of mineral oil into the bowl
and flush it to keep it lubricated.

To prevent future sea water mineral buildup in the lines and pump, flush
a cupful of distilled white vinegar once a week, especially right before
the boat will sit.

And finally, contact a Blakes distributor for an owners manual and
advice about any parts needed now. Take their advice and then
scrupulously follow installation, operation and maintenance instructions
in the manual. If you do that, this toilet will provide decades of
reliable trouble-free service.

Or...I'll be glad to restore it for you if you'd like to send the toilet
to me along with YOUR banking coordinates to cover the cost! LOL


--
Peggie
----------
Peggie Hall
Specializing in marine sanitation since 1987
Author "Get Rid of Boat Odors - A Guide To Marine Sanitation Systems and
Other Sources of Aggravation and Odor"
http://shop.sailboatowners.com/boat_odors/

Peggie Hall ha scritto:

The item will be under deck, no UV but with salty water running inside
and occasionally seeping out.

That shouldn't happen! If it does, the toilet is in need of maintenance
or repair!

Not really. It is pretty normal that a little tiny weeny drop seeps out
from the pump shaft seal before someone realizes it and gives an nth of
a turn to the gland assembly.

I wonder if I could epoxy coat also the inner parts like the cylinder
of the pump.

No no no! Coating it with anything will change the inner diameter,
causing seals, o-rings etc not to fit properly. Don't use anything to
clean the inside of the cylinder that can scratch the metal.

A bit of change of the inner diameter could be largely taken care by
wear (or I should have rather written it vice-versa). What convinces me
more is the possibility suggested by Steve of the epoxy coating falling
apart.

If the inside of the pump cylinder is crusty with sea water minerals,
remove all the parts and soak the cylinder in distilled white vinegar
overnight.

I have already done it. Believe me, not a nice job... I would not call
them "sea water minerals" only...

Once it's clean, the only thing the pump cylinder needs is lubrication
to protect the rubber o-rings, seals etc from wear. While you have it
apart, just before closing it up, squirt about 3 ml. of thick teflon
grease into the cylinder...pump a few times to spread it all over the
inside of the cylinder...that's it. Every few weeks, put a tablespoon or
two (any more than that will just wash out) of mineral oil into the bowl
and flush it to keep it lubricated.

The use of mineral oil is discouraged by Blakes manual. They say that it
will spoil the rubber gaskets. Their advice is to use liquid dish soap
and to date I always followed it.

To prevent future sea water mineral buildup in the lines and pump, flush
a cupful of distilled white vinegar once a week, especially right before
the boat will sit.

This is a good suggestion, especially if it will spare my next "not nice
job" mentioned above (even if the last was 8 years ago, I reckon).

And finally, contact a Blakes distributor for an owners manual and
advice about any parts needed now. Take their advice and then
scrupulously follow installation, operation and maintenance instructions
in the manual. If you do that, this toilet will provide decades of
reliable trouble-free service.

I am one of the best client and income provider of Blakes in UK (or
whoever owns it) and always followed their instructions with blind
faith. Guess what! I even got the special tools needed to disassemble it!
Like you, I am a great fan of their toilet and I am spending time (not
only time...) on it because:
1) it looks like a great piece of industrial archeology I am fond of
2) it will do faithfully its job for ever
3) it is very functional, sturdy and well designed
4) I would never trade it with a plastic one

Or...I'll be glad to restore it for you if you'd like to send the toilet
to me along with YOUR banking coordinates to cover the cost! LOL

Not right now, next time...

Thank you for spending your time with me
Daniel

On 12 okt, 17:50, Daniele Fua wrote:
I have a beautiful classic Blakes toilet in very good working condition
but fair exterior appearance. *It is all made of marine grade bronze and
originally mostly painted and partly chrome plated. I am presently
brushing all the paint off and wondering what to do next.
1) paint again with... what?
2) have everything chrome plated.
3) clean well and leave the bronze as it is.
3) coat the cleaned bronze with a transparent coating. Which one?

Personally I would choose not to paint it in white again but all kind of
advices are very welcome.

Daniel

Dear Daniele,
I have a baby blakes with the same condition. I had all the bronze
parts cleaned by blasting with glass pearls. This is like sand
blasting but with less violence. After that I had the parts treated
with enamel in the original colour. Enamel is when they spray the
object and than dry it in a very hot oven. The result is very strong
and perfect. The chrome parts where rechromed and the result is a new
toilet. The best there is.

Best regards, Bert