A Sad Pair...

[Aitch]

A friend found 2 reels in his shed and passed them on to me one is a Narrow drum Speedia (currently in a Dettol bath) and the other a Mordex Merlin...
Both were in terrible condition and heavily corroded... neither span for more than a few turns...

after washing off the worst of the muck and grease I set about trying to straighten the spool on the Merlin which was bent inwards annd then tried to pull oit the dents in the rim which was the result of a drop I would suppose... there was a lot of white furry corrosion all over the backplate so I set about with some wire wool and cleared off as much corrosion and flaking paint as possible....

A handful of cotton buds was need to clear out the spindle hole of years of accumulated muck and grease and once done I gave it 2 drops of Nobby's Extra Virgin Reel Oil and it spins well... maybe enough to go trotting with.. the backplate cleaned up well as you can see...

but I'd like to paint it and black Hammerite has been suggested... would I need a primer ? or can you paint Hammerite directly on (I cannot spray it )...?

[Wallys-Cast]

Harry that looks really nice. I think Hammerite sticks better if the surface is roughed up a bit. I bought some metalcote satin black from B&Q and it was really good for alloy.

Wal.

[Aitch]

would a roughing up with a wire brush be too harsh or just keep on with the wire wool...?

[Aitch]

A front view after a bit of straightening and a clean

[Liphook]

Nice restoration so far Aitch I'll be keeping an eye out for the paint finish

[Aitch]

Nice restoration so far Aitch I'll be keeping an eye out for the paint finish

I think I'm only going to do the backplate, and the spool only up to the pillars as the front doesn't look to bad... It's never going to look pristine but should make a good user

[Liphook]

A good user is far, far better than an old corroder! I spent a good amount of time getting a pair of G&Y Avon Royal Supremes back into service. I used 2 part epoxy car filler to tidy up the badly corroded spool rims, followed by 2 light coats of 2K spray paint. I didn't touch the back plates at the time, but might if I can find the time. Neither will make good trotting reels but they are my regular users for margin carp and pike fishing and truly excellent for float trolling from the boat. I look at the superb refinishing done by Evert and wonder if I could get close to his level.....

[Tonkin Wand]

You have given this reel a new lease of life. Very well done. It just shows what patience and elbow grease can achieve.. Tony

[Aitch]

Evert's attention to detail is amazing... I'd be happy with half his skill...

[Evert van der Plas]

You bring it back to a user, well done i did a few Merlins and some off them where also bad looking with a bit off elbow grease and patience they always come out nice :-)