Polished brass regulator finish?

[elmer fudd]

Yesterday, I was given an old Scuba Pro MK7 with a pair of R109 secondaries. It all appears functional, but the MK7 really doesn't look like a very practical piece of equipment, (very heavy with strange and limited hose attachment options). The R109 secondaries on the other hand are supposed to be great regulators, and I think I will put them to use.

They're kind of banged up though. Functional, but the chrome finish is just scratched up everywhere. So, I could just dive them the way they are, have them rechromed, or since they are made of brass and I do have a buffer, I'm thinking I could just strip off the chrome and polish them up. I'm sure that they would start out looking great, but I'm wondering about down the road and of course I would have to wipe them down after every use.

Anyone else have any experience with this? Good idea or bad?

 

[herman]

Brass is going to tarnish very quickly and it's going to be impossible to remove the chrome in the nooks and crannies of the reg. Frankly, I think it would look worse half way cleaned and tarnished than in it's current "experienced" look. I would either use it as is or have it rechromed.

 

[knowone]

With a few scratches and a ding or two I use them. When the chrome is crap I panel beat them then take them to the chromer for stripping then I panel beat some more. I leave the polishing to them. If the front rim is bad, forget it unless you can heat and braze or are mad so forget it. I only do it to my original or very special stuff now because I'm sick of it and there are far better things for me and I have new ones and old ones and good ones and bad ones. A bashed Mk7 having such sharp lines save a little edge tapping to move the brass need brazing to make nice. No economy there. You use a rectangular swivel adaptor 2" x 1" x 1/2" that can turn 1 port into 3. vintage scuba supply. It makes a terrible noise when you get below I think 500psi so I disable the thing. They need a bit of organising if you use a J valve. Yes you can lose some weight from your belt. Its a good reg.
After using a dremel and polishing for days you should really research clear coatings becuse they will start to tarnish in front of your eyes.
My next project, No 261 will be a 5 or 10 black.

 

[elmer fudd]

Thanks.

Sounds like a brass finish isn't a great idea after all. I kind of suspected that may be the case since they made tons of regulators out of brass and polished brass looks great, yet you never see a brass finish anywhere.

I ordered Vance Harlow's Regulator Maintenance and Repair and I'll see about picking up a couple of parts kits and rebuilding the two R109's. I might even get them rechromed.

I doubt I'll bother diving the Mk7 though. I've already got three decent regulators and it's a big clumsy thing. After reexamining it, it does have the swivel, (2 of them actually), and an unused LP port that I didn't see before, but I can't get over the crazy hose routing or the bulkiness of it. I understand that it's based on the Mk5 which is supposed to be a great reg, but I think it's disadvantages would outweigh anything it might have going for it.

 

[redacted]

Thanks.

Sounds like a brass finish isn't a great idea after all. I kind of suspected that may be the case since they made tons of regulators out of brass and polished brass looks great, yet you never see a brass finish anywhere.

I ordered Vance Harlow's Regulator Maintenance and Repair and I'll see about picking up a couple of parts kits and rebuilding the two R109's. I might even get them rechromed.

I doubt I'll bother diving the Mk7 though. I've already got three decent regulators and it's a big clumsy thing. After reexamining it, it does have the swivel, (2 of them actually), and an unused LP port that I didn't see before, but I can't get over the crazy hose routing or the bulkiness of it. I understand that it's based on the Mk5 which is supposed to be a great reg, but I think it's disadvantages would outweigh anything it might have going for it.

I have a small stable of Scubapro regs including Mk20s, Mk11, Mk10s, Mk7s, Mk5s, & Mk2s. My Mk7s are among my favorites and they have traveled to Bonaire and Cozumel. I like the extra weight high on an aluminum tank. I prefer the LP hose routing on my Mk7 over the conventional BP 1sts; but I do have to use a longer HP hose for the extra downward turn it has to take.

One minor word of caution if you do decide to use it. It should start honking between abouit 300 and 400 psi so you don't get much warning. If you are a real light breather, it may not honk. Somewhere around 150 psi, it stops honking and stops delivering usable gas through the audio port. After rebuilding a couple and studying the design, I was afraid that would happen and confirmed it in the pool. Not the kind of thiong you want to be surprised by in an emergency.

 

[Lue_Ebra]

Just a thought, but have you considered gold plating? Japanese red gold looks close to brass in colour. And it's nonreactive.

 

[DIWdiver]

IMHO, chrome is so much harder and tougher than brass, I doubt you could polish it off without making a supreme mess of the reg. It would be like trying to polish the ice off a pond without making ripples.

Chemical or electrochemical is the only way you might get satisfactory results.

D

 

[elmer fudd]

Just a thought, but have you considered gold plating? Japanese red gold looks close to brass in colour. And it's nonreactive.

I'm not fixated on the color, just trying to be cheap.

 

[elmer fudd]

IMHO, chrome is so much harder and tougher than brass, I doubt you could polish it off without making a supreme mess of the reg. It would be like trying to polish the ice off a pond without making ripples.

Chemical or electrochemical is the only way you might get satisfactory results.

D

Good point. Somehow that hadn't occurred to me.