Reel Repair by Alan Tani

Quote from: Paul9591 on October 15, 2026, 04:46:09 PMHi everyone,

I have a few more restored reels to show (my apologies if I have posted them on the forum already).

Well, not so much restored, although some have been, but more so 'deep cleaned'
A few just needed a service and polish.

Aside from my half bail Mitchell obsession, these are my other passion.

Excellent work. Gorgeous reel. I get scared being around a reel when they are this perfect!!

Quote from: Reels_penn4life on October 17, 2026, 12:12:59 AM

Quote from: Paul9591 on October 13, 2026, 11:48:43 PM

Quote from: Reels_penn4life on October 13, 2026, 10:42:34 PMLove seeing them restored. I used to do full strip down and paint. I've grown to love cleaning and restoring while keeping the natural patina from years of service. It's just great to see others loving the history and desire to keep them running.

Yes, its the same for me really, a good service, clean and polish is also my preference (most of my collection are factory finishes).
The few restorations I do now are usually only to reels that were in really bad shape, and for those that I think are worth the (no small) effort to restore.
Thank you for commenting. 

I actually have a Penn 710 greenie that had such horrible corrosion. It's loaded with craters. But I scrubbed all the corrosion off. Inside and out. Left it as is. A true survivor. Runs smooth too. Just looks rough.

Wow, that reel has some fishing history behind it, and being a Penn, much more to come I'm sure. 

I don't have any that have seen as much use as that, but I do have one or two that still have all of their battle scars, and I intend to keep them that way.

Doug if that 710 could only talk...Paul in your spare time I am interested in all the knuckle buster make/models if its not obvious in the photo.

In particular the ones with the 2 men in the boat with a fish on ?

Quote from: jgp12000 on October 17, 2026, 12:46:50 PMDoug if that 710 could only talk...Paul in your spare time I am interested in all the knuckle buster make/models if its not obvious in the photo.

In particular the ones with the 2 men in the boat with a fish on ?

thats what I love about collecting old reels. The history and stories they hold. Deserve the respect of at least being revived. I have an old ambassador from my dad. From the 60s. Guess it fits the knuckle buster description.

Quote from: Paul9591 on October 17, 2026, 09:07:40 AM

Quote from: Reels_penn4life on October 17, 2026, 12:12:59 AM

Quote from: Paul9591 on October 13, 2026, 11:48:43 PM

Quote from: Reels_penn4life on October 13, 2026, 10:42:34 PMLove seeing them restored. I used to do full strip down and paint. I've grown to love cleaning and restoring while keeping the natural patina from years of service. It's just great to see others loving the history and desire to keep them running.

Yes, its the same for me really, a good service, clean and polish is also my preference (most of my collection are factory finishes).
The few restorations I do now are usually only to reels that were in really bad shape, and for those that I think are worth the (no small) effort to restore.
Thank you for commenting. 

I actually have a Penn 710 greenie that had such horrible corrosion. It's loaded with craters. But I scrubbed all the corrosion off. Inside and out. Left it as is. A true survivor. Runs smooth too. Just looks rough.

Wow, that reel has some fishing history behind it, and being a Penn, much more to come I'm sure. 

I don't have any that have seen as much use as that, but I do have one or two that still have all of their battle scars, and I intend to keep them that way.

I have so many with beautiful battle scars. I've grown to respect them more as I grow with my collection. Used to customize. Drill and paint them all. I'll still do a full custom. But I love thinking about their stories. This corroded greenie must have gone under water and left to sit for god only knows how long. But she's back to life!!

Quote from: jgp12000 on October 17, 2026, 12:46:50 PMDoug if that 710 could only talk...Paul in your spare time I am interested in all the knuckle buster make/models if its not obvious in the photo.

In particular the ones with the 2 men in the boat with a fish on ?

Yeah, sorry about that, I should have added the names to the photos (I have added the names and some information at the top of the original post, as I could not edit it in to each photo individually).

You will often see the same scenes and patterns on reels with different names and specs (the ones you mention are two Bronson Mohawks and one Bronson Belmont; the Belmont has the grooved rim of the crank end plate), this is because they supplied the reels to different trade companies like Sears and Wards etc.  This makes collecting them an expensive venture, particularly for us overseas enthusiasts (Shipping, taxes etc), as there are very few of them outside of the USA.

Paul,
Thank you for listing the make model of these beautiful reels!

Quote from: jgp12000 on October 20, 2026, 06:34:52 PMPaul,
Thank you for listing the make model of these beautiful reels!

No problem at all.

I left this one out by mistake.
It's an Ocean City Black Hawk.
It didn't need much more than a good clean inside and out and a service and polish.

Paul pm sent

Some before and after images of the un-numbered Mohawk (it looks like worn plating, but is just years of oil and grease dirt; this is just one thing that can hide a nice finish).

It is very easy to polish down to the brass on these reels, so my own personal method is to strip the reel down as much as possible, and place the parts into a WD40 bath.
I then take a fine hair artist paintbrush, cut down to stiffen the brush hair, and scrub away at the dirt and grease on the reel while it is still part submerged in the WD40.
I then remove the parts and wipe dry with tissue.

For finishing, I use a cotton cloth with carnauba liquid wax and polish the end plates and frame, use tissue again to wipe and polish, and repeat the waxing polishing process gently again.
Always use only moderate pressure and not too much on the same area, that way you can monitor how it is going and prevent that heart sinking brassy sheen from appearing.