A woman in distress after the fitters has finished installing her fireplace decided after they had gone to clean her new cast iron fireplace and remove the dusty fingerprints from the cast decided to clean it with cold water on a cloth.
Each fireplace we supply does come with instruction leaflet explaining what to do etc re cleaning and it does state never to wash fireplace with water.
Now i have done it to remove stubborn dirt marks but it must be dried off straight away with another clean cloth this is fine but if water is left on the surface and particularly polished surface it will start to rust.
Anyway Mrs C came into the room in the afternoon and noticed all the highlighted details on the cast had gone rusty but the matt black surface of the main body of the cast was fine and the finger prints had gone.
So she rang us for some advice simply solved i told her as the rust had not had time to get hold and would only be surface rust.
Just spray some WD40 onto a clean cloth and wipe over the polished areas NOT THE BLACK and it will come straight off.
Ten minutes later she rang back thanking me for our advice and i did mention not to clean it again with water as polished cast iron and water do not mix to well, she laughed and promised to read instructions next time.
Archive for the ‘Fireplace Care’ Category
Help ive cleaned my cast iron fireplace with water
Friday, July 9th, 2010The weather is hotter than one of our stoves
Saturday, June 5th, 2010Is Summer at last upon us and will the fireplace season still be as manic now the warm weather is finally starting.
I know one thing today is nice and warm and even a little muggy as im sat here in my office answering some emails and basically writing my daily blog on what we do here at Castfireplaces.
It made me smile about an hour ago a customer of ours rang up to order replaceemnt grate and firebrick for his Tiger Stove he bought 3 years ago as the grate had warped and the brick had cracked.
I asked him whether he had it running today for ajoke seeing as its 27 degrees and he said he had made fire up in case it got a little chilly.
Chilly i laughed to myself its boiling hot anyway after joking for a while he said he has stove running most days and how much money it has saved him and his wife in Gas bills and wanted to get it all ready for winter.
I suppose really it makes sense giving your gas and solid fuel fireplaces and stoves a good thorough summer clean and its an ideal time to buy any spares that need sorting out before the cold weather returns and we are then back agian to having them in full use.
So take a little Advice from Mr Harvey today and give us a call if you need any fireplace spares.
Metal Polish and Some Elbow Grease thats How
Monday, April 19th, 2010A question we get asked from time to time relates to the upkeep of our polished cast iron fireplaces and how do you the customer keep them in great looking condition.
I have become quite an expert over the years at polishing cast iron and have had plenty of practice cleaning it.
At home i have a pembroke full polish fireplace that sits in pride of place in my lounge, now having a five year old son with what seems the worlds stickiest hands i have become an expert at cleaning our plasma tv and pembroke fireplace from finger marks.
When the fireplace arrives to you it has a light machine oil on it to stop it going rusty in transit this needs to be removed before fitting and WD40 will do this just fine.
WD40 is ideal for general cleaning but if left over time the finish will begin to tarnish from moisture in the air and need to be addressed with a good quality Multi Metal Polish and a good amount of elbow grease.
It is simple to apply and work in small patches do not cover the whole fireplace with it then try and remove as it does spread all over.
I would suggest using gloves and two clean cloths one for applying and 1 for removal also around the bars where most tarnishing occurs particularly with solid fuel fireplaces i always use 0000 wire wool which is for polishing and is very smooth but also slightly abrasive if you can remember think back to a brillo pad its very similar.
Apply the metal polish to the steel wool and work in circular motions wiping away excess as you go.
This should remove most of the most stuuborn stains leaving you with a gleaming fireplace.
Dry and clean off with new clean cloth and rub all over to remove excess thats it all done now sit back and relax and admire your handiwork
Simple as That
No rise in VAT on all our Fireplaces
Wednesday, March 24th, 2010Well it was budget day today and to be honest i really thought we were going to have to alter all our prices on our website and in our showroom with a new VAT rate but thankfully for now thats been put on hold.
As with most products we buy the Gallery range of fireplaces and stoves we sell does include VAT at the present rate of 17.5%.
Its a simple tax that is very difficult for customers to avoid and a lot of talk this week has been centered on an increase to 20% which effectively is you our customers paying £2.50 (aproxx) extra for every £100 you spend.
Anyway im glad that hasn’t come to light the country is in a bad enough state without people being charged extra to compensate banks borrowing our money.
Since the Credit crunch crisis here at Cast Fireplaces people have started to use Debit cards more now than ever before and Cash on Collection is very popular too.
I prefer Debit card for my online shopping as once its been taken from the bank its done then and you dont have to worry about paying credit card bill ontime but i do understand the ease of use with credit card should anything go wrong.
So with this little bit of Good budget news apart from Fuel Duty rise again our prices will remain the same so you can heave a sigh of relief that the Limestone fireplace you are looking to buy for £600 will not cost you £613.
Personally i think with all fireplaces burning wood seeing as it is carbon neutral there should be some form of VAT reduction due to it being GREEN i will write to MP and let him throw my letter in the Bin.
We Sell Fireplace Accessories and Spares
Tuesday, June 16th, 2009Hi there the next articles will describe the sections we have on our website so customers can then head straight to the section they require for the item they want without having to navigate around our website the first section is Accessories and Care Products. This section has care and repair products for all your fireplaces plus spares for the gallery range of fireplaces.
Here at Cast Fireplaces we supply a good range of products such as slate oils for hearth and surround maintenance, Limestone sealers to keep your surround free from stains along with high temp paint and black lead grate polish to keep your fires in good condition. We also stock coal paint, Graphite and metal polish so there’s not much fireplace related care products that we don’t sell. We also stock a range of replacement ash pans and firebricks even including cast iron fire backs so that if you do ever need any spares for you gallery fireplace I’m sure we will be able to help you. All items in this section comes with free postage to the UK so if you do need any fireplace accessories or spares just head straight to that section and order whatever you need if your not sure which product to use on which fireplace just ring us we are here to offer free help and advice.
Restoring an Original Cast Iron Fireplace
Tuesday, May 19th, 2009Restoring an original Cast Iron Fireplace is a subject we get asked about a lot due to the fact that we sell Reproduction Victorian Fireplaces. Although we only sell new Gallery Fireplaces we are more than happy to pass on any info and help we can and supply the products you need to restore it with.
Cast Iron Fireplaces are the most likely type of fireplace that need restoring it is easy to restore yourself and if you remove the fireplace so you can work on it a proper height it makes the job far easier. Don’t be tempted to use a blowtorch to remove the paint this can easily crack the cast iron and the fumes are toxic due to old lead in the paint. We suggest using Nitromors paint stripper or any equivalent. Scrape away the dissolving paint using plastic or wooden scraper for the decorative details use a stiff nylon brush don’t be to hasty to remove paint as there will be many layers and it takes time for the paint stripper to work. After all the paint has been removed wipe down with white spirits do not use water or the cast iron will start to rust. A base coat of Heat Temp Paint can then be applied and a top coat if you want the Matt Black finish or if you prefer the more traditional look to the fireplace apply Black Lead Grate polish with a brush leave to dry then buff to the required finish. This fireplace is now complete and will look good for years to come just make sure it’s kept dry and never clean with water to avoid the fireplace going rusty.
 
How do look after my Fireplace Timber Mantel
Wednesday, April 29th, 2009Taking Care of your Timber Surround is quite really a simple matter for starters its not ideal to let your wooden fireplace become wet in any way and try to avoid sitting hot cups on the mantel shelf to avoid the white ring effect.
Pine Surrounds are made from solid pine timber, which is classed as a soft wood they are stained with our own hand mixed Water based stain made from Van-Dyke Crystals we apply 1-2 coats of stain depending on the colour we wish to achieve we then leave to dry and add a hand waxed finish using a Morells wax to get the look we want.
For upkeep of your Pine Surround you should only need to lightly wire-wool surface using 0000 grade then reapply a coat of wax and buff to the sheen you require this should be done once a year or more often if required over the years the surround will build up a patina which will look more and more like antique pine this is the true finish of pine and looks great.
For our Solid Oak Surrounds such as the Oak Stourhead its finished with an Oiled finish such as finishing oil or Tung oil this is 2-3 coats of this oil is applied prior to delivery of these surrounds and are quite water resistant. You should re-oil surrounds every year using a good quality Oil and apply with a clean cloth and work the oil into the surface of the Wooden surround remove any excess after 10 minutes and then let the oil soak into the timber once its dried that’s all that has to be done and its ready to be refitted.
For all of our Fireplace Mantels If you do have water stains or heat marks the surface needs to be resanded and stain coats applied before waxing or oiling please Contact us for further advice on what you need to do and what to use as we can supply any Stains or oils you require
Restoring a Fireplace To Former Glory
Tuesday, April 28th, 2009Â After using for a while particularly for solid fuel use the fireplace you have will show cosmetic signs of wear and tear this can depend on what type of fuel you have been using whether its coal or wood generally the hotter the burning fuel the more upkeep you will have to make.
Full polished Fireplaces are very simple to maintain we tend to use WD40 for normal monthly cleaning but once every 6 months we tend to use Metal Polish which is applied with a cloth working in small sections in a circular motion its polished into the cast and the excess removed and then buffed with clean cloth to finish to a shiny finish this paste removes all the grime left behind and the Cast iron will sparkle like new it can also be used on brass chrome etc.
For our Black Fireplaces them come from the factory with a tough heat resistant matt black spray applied to the surface this will not normally come off or flake away so it can be dusted with a dry cloth to keep it clean DO NOT use Water on it as this causes rusting. Around the Basket area of the fire this causes white deposits to build up these need to be removed with a brush and then normally sprayed over with Heat Temp Matt Black Paint which will cover all the exiting heat marks be sure to spray evenly over the cast iron back to ensure colour match.
For our Fireplaces that have been Black Leaded we use Black Lead Grate Polish this is a traditional Black lead Graphite finish similar to the Old Zebo product which my granny used to polish her range with. It’s very simple to use and is applied by a cloth or small paint brush cover the area you are going to do wiping excess away at all times leave to dry for half an hour then buff to your desired finish with a clean cloth or with a polishing brush this method is very effective and I think it really makes the features of the fireplace stand out just have a look at the photos below the top one shows before and the bottom one is after black lead has been applied its not bright silver more of a pewter look
Â
Matt Black Pembroke
Â
Â
Â
Â
Â
Â
Â
Â
Â
Â
Â
Â
Â
Â
Â
Â
Â
Black Leaded Pembroke
Â
Â