Restoring a Tarnished 1940's Flour Sifter
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- Опубликовано: 25 июн 2024
- This Bromwell 3 cup flour sifter design was patented in 1930. This particular sifter was likely produced in the 1930’s or 1940’s. It belonged to my girlfriend’s grandmother. It still worked for its intended purpose, but the metal was severely tarnished, the wooden knob heavily faded from decades of use, and the metal sifting screen was starting to rust.
Sometimes they still make them exactly like they used to though! Bromwell has been making flour sifters and other utensils for over 150 years, and the design for their sifter has remained largely unchanged to this day.
Following this video to restore your own flour sifter? Here’s a few notes and tips:
Skip the flour/salt/vinegar cleaning and just go straight to removing the tarnish with a fine, soft Scotch-Brite pad (I used a gray one) and elbow grease (warm water or any metal polish compound). After removing the tarnish, you can polish/buff to a mirror shine with brown and blue polishing compound on a buffing wheel or just use any metal polish compound and soft cloth and polish it by hand. This particular model sifter is made of tin, which is a soft metal and easy to polish (but also easy to re-scratch). The sifting screen should pop out with a little push and you can clean that separately. I nickel plated the sifting screen to prevent it from rusting again (nickel does not rust). A simple tutorial to get you started on nickel plating: • Electroplating - Easy ... . Unfortunately, the manufacturing process of the arm/agitators does not let you remove them without severely bending them or cutting them out. I was worried about them breaking, even with heating them with a torch, so I opted to leave them in and clean around them as best I could. To repaint the wooden handle knob, be sure to use a non-toxic water-based paint so it will be food safe. I used a basic craft store acrylic paint. Then, seal it with dishwasher safe Mod Podge. Do not use a polyurethane, as it is not food safe. Some waxes are food safe but be sure to read all labels. Also note that Mod Podge requires 30 days to fully cure. Finally, reassemble and thoroughly rinse and dry everything with acetone and then warm, soapy water to remove any residue from polishing and buffing. Enjoy your like-new sifter!
Video timestamps:
0:00 - 1:04 Before/overview
1:05 - 3:00 Flour, salt, vinegar cleaning
3:01 - 4:14 Removing tarnish
4:15 - 4:53 Rust removal on mesh screen
4:54 - 6:05 Removing more tarnish
6:06 - 8:00 Prepping, painting, and sealing wood handle
8:01 - 9:46 Cleaning and nickel-plating mesh screen
9:47 - 9:55 Final polish
9:56 - 10:33 Before/After reveal
10:34 - 11:24 Testing
11:25 - 11:44 Thank you and subscribe!
Social Media:
Instagram: @catalyst_restorations
Email: catalystrestorations@gmail.com (send pics of your restoration projects!)
#restoration #kitchen #tools
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Very nice job. We have the exact same sifter and I looked at it yesterday and thought "I should restore that for the wife." Thanks for the blueprint!
You are very welcome! It's really straightforward! Good luck!
I really appreciate being able to see a common kitchen tool made new again. 💕♥️💕
Thanks! I use it all the time for baking!
My Grandmother had one like that, I learned to bake using it. Thank you for the great restoration 😊
Thanks! It's amazing that the design has been virtually unchanged for 100+ years now!
Terrific restorastion. I learned some new tricks for my restorations. Well done.
Thanks John!
Another respectful, well done restoration. Thanks for your continued inspiration and education!
Thank you very much Bryson!
Reminds me of my mom's which I suspect she bought in the 1940's. Good job.
Thanks! Flour sifter design has essentially stayed the same for like a hundred years.
After nearly fifteen years I finally got the opportunity to collect some of my grandma's things from her house. Sitting on a high shelf in the kitchen, exactly where I placed it twenty years ago, I found the sifter we used as kids when we made cookies and things. Based on the age you give (and the fact that my grandma didn't cook much), I'm guessing that this sifter may have belonged to HER mother as my great-grandmother did a lot of cooking. It's far more tarnished than yours, probably from being left sitting. I'm so glad to see that it's possible to restore it to working order. Thank you for this.
Thank you SO much for sharing this story of your grandma and your memories with her, Ann! With a little elbow grease you can bring it back to all its former glory and keep using it for many more generations 😊. Feel free to leave a comment here if you have any questions when you get around to clean it up! 😁
Unique restoration, very nice.
Thanks Jack! 😁👍
I bought one for .74 is almost in the same shape as yours. thank you for the video
Very cool! If you're going to restore it or just want to shine it up let me know if you have any questions!
Thanks for this great video. I collect the green handle kitchen utensils from the same era as yours and this has me considering a shinier display!
How wonderful! I restored a green handle grapefruit corer on here a while back that was my great grandmother's so I have a special place for green handled utensils too!
Well done!
Thanks David! 👍
My mum had one just like this.
Awesome! This design is still pretty much what's used today - turns out you can pretty much perfect something a long time ago!
A silicone basting brush would help the goop going on.
Yup, for sure! It was a bit of a chore to remove!
"...very rusted and tarnished." Well, aren't we all?!!
Didn't expect things to get so real 😱
@@CatalystRestorations Don't be surprised if I arrive on your doorstep all parcelled up and expecting expert restoration!!! Lol!!! All the very best!!!
Enjoyed the video and appreciate the step by step, but what solution did u use to clean the screen in after u soaked it in vinegar? When u were scrubbing it with the brush.
It was just pouring in the vinegar that I soaked the screen in.
Very nice! Mine just looks so much worse! I'll take it slow
Best of luck!! Taking it slow and bit by bit is the best way to go about it! Throw down another comment here if you get stuck at all.
Would you restore the one I have for a fee? It is for personal use. Ty
I'm afraid that even for something like this the fee I have to charge for my time would be way more than it's worth. If you're still interested though, send me an email: catalystrestorations@gmail.com
So. Use Scotch Brite.
Yup that's the trick!
The patent: patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/63/09/00/01a1841152aa7e/US1753995.pdf
Excellent find, thank you Roland! Amazing how little this design has changed compared to the ones you can buy on shelves today.