Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums General Petroliana Discussion can you buff porcelain coating on a gas pump

i bought a tokheim 39 short and had 5 layers of paint on it. i stripped it down to the original green flying a color and it is porcelain coated. the top is really shiny
but the doors and the sides are really dull can i bring the glossy finish back.
mark

If its gone because of damage to the actual surface--ITS GONE.
If its just dulled from chemicals or oxidation, you can use a number of polishes to bring back the lustre. Mothers Metal polish is my favorite.
You can artificially bring back some of the gloss on a damaged surface by using a furniture polish called Howards Feed & Wax, but it is only temporary and lasts a few weeks when kept inside.
Hope this helps!

Would a clear coat work?

OUCH!! Yes a clearcoat will work but the words clearcoat and porcelain should not be used together, as many here will stay away from any porcelain that has been clearcoated.

Thanks , just wondering out loud if it was a way to brighten up a sign you really liked.
Not a good idea if you plan on resale. Let the new owner decide.

I don't think Clear Coating will hide the scratching in the porcelain.
Try the Worst small area 1st to see if you get the desired effect.

i used stripper and took of 5 layers of paint, now there is a dull finish green, i wasnt sure what to do if it was a chemical reaction with the paint and the porcelain or if i can buff past the dullness to bring back the original shine

...some of the porcelain pumps were primed with a paint that etched the surface, to make the paint job stick better...ran into that on a Getty reimage of a National 360...

Once porcelain loses its gloss...it is gone forever. Their are no effective & permanent methods to restore the gloss/shine back on a porcelain surface.

...I've often wondered: if you refired the sign/panel, would that restore the gloss? I guess there would be so many variables - heat, duration, etc...

You could clear coat it.