Cast Aluminium Fittings
Bisquit had all of the original (Danish I think) cast aluminium fittings on the deck. It would have been cheaper to just replace them in stainless but I want to maintain as much of the original hardware as I can. I sent the bronze stuff (stemhead, chainplates, tiller head, lifeline deck plates etc... ) out to be re-plated. I'm still waiting for those. After spending a few hours with mixed results trying to polish the aluminium fittings myself I found a shop outside of Chicago that specializes in metal polishing. I got the fittings back the other day. They are beautiful. Now I have to protect them. I don't want to clearcoat them. That would create a maintenance nightmare and it would wear off the cleats almost immediately. I'm talking to a guy about Bright Anodizing. I'm hoping he can help. Does anyone have any experience with this process?
Also, There is a 3" deck plate not pictured but restored. It looks like a Dorade vent may screw into it. Is anyone familiar with this fitting?