To Black Lead or not to black lead now that’s the Question
For those of you not following what I mean Black lead or Grate polish as it is now known due to lack of lead in it these days is a traditional black polish used on cast iron fireplaces, ranges and stoves to give them an authentic look.
I can honestly remember my Nana polishing the kitchen range in the house they lived in when I was a child, I’m sure she used to mix it with some sort of thinners to make it go further and then put it on with a cloth and then buff it off with a shoe brush and a clean rag.
As my grandad used to work at Scetchleys rags were plentiful in there house and with black leading to be done they needed to be.
So the Black lead we sell is available in our Care products section and a tube will last you ages with enough grate polish to do your fireplace a few times over.
I always suggest to customers to try the black lead out on the reverse of the cast iron to see if they like the finish.
So here comes the advice bit
how do I polish my fireplace
1 Lay down plenty of paper and mask off all the falls etc. around the fireplace
2 Use some disposable gloves it can get messy
3 Put some of the paste and a small piece of plastic or wood and using a cut down paintbrush apply to the cast doing an area at a time but do the whole fireplace before next step.
4 Remove brush strokes with a rag polishing them all into the cast.
5 It may look dull at the moment but leave to dry for around 15 minutes.
6 Return with soft shoe brush and clean rag and buff the whole fireplace to required finish and then finally rub over with clean rag to remove any excess.
It really is a simple as that you now have a traditional looking fireplace that really makes the features stand out and for regular cleaning just use a dry clean cloth until it starts to look dull again then go over it all again
Happy Polishing
Phone
01773 718718
Email
sales@castfireplaces.co.uk