Metal Refinishing Business Thrives

Metal Refinishing Business Thrives 29-3-9 Rubbing lamps until they shine hasn't awakened any genies for Brian Spandl, but it has provided him with a thriving rural business. As a metal finisher, Brian helps people find out what lies beneath the blackened surfaces of sometimes valuable antiques. Since setting up Mill Lake Metal Finishing 12 years ago in Long Prairie, Minn., he has added more than 1,500 sq. ft. to his garage for a shop and storage. "A blow torch started the whole thing," Brian says, pointing to a shelf of gleaming blow torches - just a few of the polished items that decorate the home he shares with his wife, Theresa, and their two children. Brian spent two weeks cleaning the first torch with steel wool, acids and cleaners. Then he discovered a simple kit with polishing wheels and compounds. Within an hour, Brian had the torch polished and clear-coated - vastly improved from his amateur attempts. He next tackled an incense burner and a bullring. Brian was hooked and started picking up work from neighbors and family. He had worked in processing plants, oil fields and boat factories, but liked the idea of being his own boss. With a growing interest in antiques, there was good demand for a refinishing business. By reading, experimenting and picking up tips from a former metal finisher, the Spandls have set up a clean, efficient system. Brian created rooms for each process, especially polishing which is especially messy. The process begins at a workbench, where Brian disassembles the item. Sometimes that can be the most difficult part of the job, he says. Then, except for cast brass and silver items that must be cleaned by hand, the pieces are dipped into one of five strip tanks to remove plating, soot, paint and grease. Everything then goes into warm, baking soda water to be neutralized. Once the true metals are exposed, Brian repairs anything that's broken and sandblasts anything that needs painting. Some pieces need to be re-plated. After an item has been repaired and polished, it is cleaned with a lacquer thinner and clear coated with lacquer to preserve it for years. The Spandls refinish many copper boilers, fire extinguishers and blow torches. Because overhead costs are low, Brian charges $20/blow torch and $35/copper boiler. A Deere plow, cow bells, train bells, firefighting equipment, gas pump nozzles and old parlor stoves have all come and gone through his workshop. Though he doesn't like working on wood cookstoves, Brian likes refinishing parlor stoves, and he has several in his home and dozens more to finish. Most clients use them for woodburning; others modify them with propane. Contact: FARMSHOW Followup, Brian Spandl, Mill Lake Metal Finishing, 28655 Cty. Rd. 29, Long Prairie, Minn. 56347 (ph 320 594-2799; email: milllake@rea-alp.com).

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