The Traditional Fisherman's Forum

I recently aquired this rather worse for wear Record Breaker.
Some reels look quite nice with evidence of their past life there for all to see, but this reel just sort of looked sad and folorn.




Anyway, paint stripper and some metal polish seems to have done the trick. I am now wondering, should I repaint it or leave it .




David

You've done a lovely job on that reel, David!

You have transformed what was a pretty plain run-of-the-mill 1960's reel into something which has a rather classic look to it.
I'd definitely have one which looked like yours, whereas the original ...

But then I am unfairly biased against the poor old Record Breaker.

In 1968 I acquired the Allcocks catalogue, and fell in love with the Match Aerial. The price shown was 124/3, including Purchase Tax.
"Endorsed by Billy Lane as the finest trotting reel ever made".
15 years old, I worked on a farm for six weeks during the summer holidays, earning about £1 a week and saving most of it.
September came around, and I took the bus into town clutching my earnings.
And there it was in the window, but to my horror, the price had gone up by about four shillings, thanks to an increase in Purchase Tax!

I begged for a discount, but the shopkeeper was having none of it. He even told me that a kid like me had no need of such an expensive
reel, and persuaded me to buy a Record Breaker.
It's not a bad reel at all.
But it's not a Match Aerial. And 55 years on, it still isn't.

That looks great now.I would be inclined to leave as is and let a natural patina build up.

Hi David,

Very nice work, and in my judgment it should be left just like that. I have seen repainted reels, and they're not always an edifying spectacle. A tastefully stripped and polished reel on the other hand... lovely stuff.

I did the same with a Speedia I used to have.



I was quite happy with the outcome.

TC

Grumpy wrote: ↑Thu Nov 02, 2023 4:56 pm That looks great now.I would be inclined to leave as is and let a natural patina build up.

I agree, just let it dull down and it will look more attractive than a repaint!

Lea Dweller wrote: ↑Thu Nov 02, 2023 9:05 pm

Grumpy wrote: ↑Thu Nov 02, 2023 4:56 pm That looks great now.I would be inclined to leave as is and let a natural patina build up.

I agree, just let it dull down and it will look more attractive than a repaint!

Leave it as it is. It looks great.