The base is all sandblasted are ready for the first step of smoothing the cast iron up. As you can see the sand blasting has left a flat gray sort of look. This finish can be primed and painted over, but the roughness from the sand will not give you much gloss. Different types of blasting material will give you different finishes, so the right type of material would elemitate this step. Of course there is always a trade off when changing material. The nicer, smoother finish would require lots more time blasting because it won't cut as fast. There is also a cost factor. The more time you spend blasting the more material you'll use, more air, more electricity.......and your time is free...but if your paying for that too....more money.

The first step of smoothing the cast iron is to run around the piece with this type of grinding disk. I use 30-50 grit for this. The one on the grinder is still useable, the one to the right is a brand new disk. These disk run from $2.50 - $7.00 a piece. The cost depends on where you buy them, and the brand name. One disk will easily do this whole press.

Here is the base completely ground down. This removes the roughness from sandblasting. I will also spend extra time on areas where the casting is rougher than normal, or unlevel. I avoid grinding on casting numbers and stamped numbers like serial numbers. These are important markings on any items and should be left on the item to hold it's historical valve.

OKAY....here's where I might be crossing the line for some: the use of plastic body filler. Since I'm making this press a bit more showy than other ones I have I want to smooth it up more than normal. Don't be mistaken, most all items I've sandblasted over the years has had some sort of filler in them....even this one from the 1880's. Two forms of filler was used back then: paint and water putty. I found both in this one. Some of the major casting flaws had water putty in them. Also a large amount of paint was also noted in some areas. Paint laid on thick and dried was sanded smooth and then painted again....causing a filling effect.

This process will help make the finished look smoother and shiner. Easier to paint, easier to clean, easier to pinstripe, and looks sharp. This process can always be removed by re-restoring it again in the manner as I'm doing now, but not doing the plastic filler process.