Seeking help identifying/repairing sword finish

[DracoAdamantus]

I am in need of some advice in some touch-up repairs on a piece I recently acquired.

I recently acquired a second-hand LE Shards of Narsil by United Cutlery, which I got for a decent deal because the mounting board had a number of dings and scratches. I have been able to polish it up, but in the process the tip of the sword got polished a bit as well. It's not only the texture, but the actual sheen of the metal, the rest of the blade appears to have a more matte gray appearance than the rest, which leads me to think that this was some sort of wax or other coating on the blade, or possibly a heat or chemical treatment.

Does anyone know what could have been used to give it that grayish finish? It's fairly noticeable on the wall and I'd like to blend it back to the original finish if I can. It doesn't need to be perfect, just better than it is. If this weren't such a rare piece I'd just polish the whole blade and then restore the grain direction with some high-grit sandpaper, but given the nature of the item I don't want to mess with the original finish more than I have to.

 

[BR12819]

It's a little difficult to judge from the photos, but it does look like there was some silver 'rub and buff' that was removed during the polishing. You can kind of see on one side where the polish got hot and darker. You could find some silver and carefully re-apply to the affected area.

 

[DracoAdamantus]

It's a little difficult to judge from the photos, but it does look like there was some silver 'rub and buff' that was removed during the polishing. You can kind of see on one side where the polish got hot and darker. You could find some silver and carefully re-apply to the affected area.

Oh if it is run-n-buff that would be perfect, I have plenty of that lying around. I was afraid I'd have to seek out some specialty material.

Will update once I have a chance to try it.

 

[BR12819]

My theory on rub-n-buff is only that. It could be some other form of protective wax but it's a start. If it doesn't have the right look you can strip it off.

 

[DracoAdamantus]

My theory on rub-n-buff is only that. It could be some other form of protective wax but it's a start. If it doesn't have the right look you can strip it off.

Well it wasn't the silver, that actually made it even brighter haha. But the texture was about right, so I'll see if I can get ahold of some of the pewter finish, that definitely looks closer from a base metal standpoint.

 

[mrwax]

It seems unlikely to me that they'd use something like rub-n-buff on a metal blade, but they could easily have used some kind of clear coat to dull it a bit. It might even be a slightly tinted clear coat, or a clear protective wax like BR12189 suggested, maybe renaissance wax.

 

[DracoAdamantus]

It seems unlikely to me that they'd use something like rub-n-buff on a metal blade, but they could easily have used some kind of clear coat to dull it a bit. It might even be a slightly tinted clear coat, or a clear protective wax like BR12189 suggested, maybe renaissance wax.

Yeah it's a fair point that that's likely not what was originally used, but it may be suitable for a touch up if I can get the color right.

I'm looking into that renaissance wax as well, I may add a little gray mica powder to give it a slight tint if the regular wax doesn't darken at all.

 

[TazMan2000]

The original coating could have been used as corrosion protection. Even polished metal displayed in humid environments may get affected.
My advice is to polish all of it off and redo it, so it is consistent.

TazMan2000

 

[Palantirion]

I agree with TaxMan. I don't think you are going to be able to feather any repair on metal that's so reflective without it being obvious. But re-polishing should be straightforward.