Restoring Old Oil Lamp

Some time ago, I was roaming around my grandparents property. I wandered into the abandoned neighbor property, where I found an old nearly collapsed shack. Of course I went into it, and I was surprised when I found this old rusty oil lamp. Well, an old oil lamp isn't something very expensive and at this state it wasn't valuable at all, so one could ask why was I surprised? I was surprised because after more than 30 years of being in really low and high temperatures the glass bowl wasn't broken!

So I was sure that I can't leave it there to rust! That's how the idea about a new lamp was born...

Tools and materials:

• Sandpaper,
• Rust remover,
• Paint,
• Paintbrush,
• Cloth,
• Light bulb,
• Wire with a switch,
• Bulb socket.

I started with taking it apart. It was quite scary, as I was trying not to brake the glass!

When that was done I took a piece of wet cloth, and cleaned the lamp with it. It was even more surprising to find that the glass had only a couple of scratches, and after cleaning it looked like new!

Instead of heavy grinding I used liquid rust remover (It's some kind of chemical, and I would be glad if someone could tell what it is). After coating the lamp with the liquid, I let it soak in for some time. After that I used some medium grit sandpaper to smooth the surface.

When I stared to think about the color, I remembered an old commercial about a paint that can be put directly onto rust. Hammerite!! So I went to the local shop and bought it (they had only one color - bright blue)! Unfortunately only when I had painted the lamp, I understood that this blue color wasn't too good looking.

To make it look unusual, I decided to paint some of the parts white! After painting I let the lamp dry for a couple of days.

When I found the lamp, it wasn't in working condition, and I'm not the guy who knows how to fix a 40 year old oil lamp...

So instead of fixing it, I decided to upgrade it! With electricity!!

First, I reassembled the lamp, then I put the wire through the top of the lamp and then I connected the wire with the bulb socket! And hooray! it shines really bright!!!

This was quite entertaining project, that took little time to complete, and in the end, it's turned out nicely! It's a new breath to an old object!

I added this instructable to the Before and After contest, so I would be really thankful I you could vote for me!