Post by mndoss06 on Mar 15, 2015 15:07:42 GMT -5
So I decided to have my Supreme Mark I Deluxe re-plated. I know this may sound blasphemous to some of the collectors on here but I just wasn't happy with the original finish and something just seemed off with it. You can't really tell in the "before" pictures below but it had some kind of water-like staining to the finish. While over most of the fan it looked like it was some kind of copper finish in the parts where the finish wasn't exposed to the elements it looked almost polished brass. Even if it was copper they don't make light kits that would have matched. I decided to take the plunge and get it re-plated in polished brass. It was very expensive but I'm very happy with how it turned out. It took a few months to get it done because the place I took it to had some of their equipment break down which they had to get fixed before they could finish the fan for me. I was a little worried because I had to complete disassemble the motor and everything and this was the first time I'd ever attempted anything like that. I just got all the parts back last week in the mail and I put everything back together and tested it this weekend. It works great! I re-greased the bearings with some white lithium grease. There's some wobble on high, light wobble on medium, and some very slight hum, which according to the instructions it came with say is normal. I don't think I could be happier with how this turned out!
Before. I did not have the original canopy re-plated since I was going to convert it to ball and socket:
After. After they re-plated they even put the info sticker back on for me! The tassel pull chain is original to the fan. The blades are not, they are a set that came from a Restore that had Emperor blade arms attached to them. I don't know what happened to the rest of the Emperor. I also put a four-light turtle fitter on the fan after taking these pictures, though I might switch it out for something else later on.
The other project I had done was to get some down rod couplers that I could use with my Commander spinners. The reason I had this done was because these Commanders come with down rods that are threaded on the inside which are near impossible to find. I have three of these spinners, one didn't come with a down rod and one of them had a 7" down rod which is just a little too long. I want to be able to switch out the down rods if I need to. I got two old white twin Hampton Bays from a Restore that I cannibalized for parts. I took the down rod connectors that they had to work and my facility manager was able to get them re-threaded in the correct threading for the Commanders since the original threading was too small. With them being white I sent these and the down rods off to get re-plated in antique brass. I'm not quite as happy with how the AB finished turned out compared to the PB one but with these being such small parts I'm not as concerned, and they weren't as expensive to have done.
Before:
After:
Last week I got off of eBay a third of these white Hampton Bay fans (motor only) and used it for parts also. Interestingly the down rod connector on this one was already threaded in the correct threading required for the Commanders so I didn't need to bother with it being re-threaded. I already mailed it off to get re-plated in antique brass.
Before. I did not have the original canopy re-plated since I was going to convert it to ball and socket:
After. After they re-plated they even put the info sticker back on for me! The tassel pull chain is original to the fan. The blades are not, they are a set that came from a Restore that had Emperor blade arms attached to them. I don't know what happened to the rest of the Emperor. I also put a four-light turtle fitter on the fan after taking these pictures, though I might switch it out for something else later on.
The other project I had done was to get some down rod couplers that I could use with my Commander spinners. The reason I had this done was because these Commanders come with down rods that are threaded on the inside which are near impossible to find. I have three of these spinners, one didn't come with a down rod and one of them had a 7" down rod which is just a little too long. I want to be able to switch out the down rods if I need to. I got two old white twin Hampton Bays from a Restore that I cannibalized for parts. I took the down rod connectors that they had to work and my facility manager was able to get them re-threaded in the correct threading for the Commanders since the original threading was too small. With them being white I sent these and the down rods off to get re-plated in antique brass. I'm not quite as happy with how the AB finished turned out compared to the PB one but with these being such small parts I'm not as concerned, and they weren't as expensive to have done.
Before:
After:
Last week I got off of eBay a third of these white Hampton Bay fans (motor only) and used it for parts also. Interestingly the down rod connector on this one was already threaded in the correct threading required for the Commanders so I didn't need to bother with it being re-threaded. I already mailed it off to get re-plated in antique brass.
