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Eleco HW918 bowl after restoration Acquired 2 years ago, I had an incredible save consisting of 3 Eleco HW918's, a gearless Gamma 6 and a GEC Z8691. Quite soon after I decided to give one of the Eleco HW918 bowls some attention, given that the plastic is actually Diakon, an early form of perspex. The upside to having Diakon bowls, as shown in the photo after restoration, is that it never actually goes cloudy or yellows. Wet dry sanding guarantees that any traces of ageing can be completely removed, given that a bit of time is spent. The downside is that it is VERY brittle, so while you need to apply a bit of pressure to sand, too much will split it. Polishing is also a breeze, as the plastic is also quite soft, so top layers can be smoothed and buffed to a crystal clear shine with ease

Eleco HW918 bowl after restoration

Acquired 2 years ago, I had an incredible save consisting of 3 Eleco HW918's, a gearless Gamma 6 and a GEC Z8691. Quite soon after I decided to give one of the Eleco HW918 bowls some attention, given that the plastic is actually Diakon, an early form of perspex. The upside to having Diakon bowls, as shown in the photo after restoration, is that it never actually goes cloudy or yellows. Wet dry sanding guarantees that any traces of ageing can be completely removed, given that a bit of time is spent. The downside is that it is VERY brittle, so while you need to apply a bit of pressure to sand, too much will split it. Polishing is also a breeze, as the plastic is also quite soft, so top layers can be smoothed and buffed to a crystal clear shine with ease

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Filename:DSC01435.JPG
Album name:Dave / Lanterns
Filesize:3686 KiB
Date added:03 Feb, 2019
Dimensions:2730 x 2048 pixels
Displayed:51 times
URL:http://80.229.24.59:9232/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=10235
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lampy   [03 Feb, 2019 at 02:10 AM]
mint job on that bowl, ive got one of these same lanterns, my bowl allthough identical in shape is milky white so maybe they did a perpex option too?
Dave   [03 Feb, 2019 at 11:14 AM]
The way I discovered this was Diakon was more a mistake than anything else. I was cleaning it, and it had a right nasty smell to it, as well as a weird sticky goo in the bottom. Once that goo was removed, the bowl seemed clearer, hence I used wet dry sandpaper to see if it'd do the trick, the results are what you see here.
Danny   [03 Feb, 2019 at 11:16 AM]
Done a good job there bloody hell!
Dave   [03 Feb, 2019 at 11:28 AM]
Just a warning when working with Diakon or even storing it, its fragile as hell, moreso than glass. It can bend, but its extremely brittle, so its super easy to put cracks in it if you're too heavy handed with it.
fluorescent   [03 Feb, 2019 at 01:24 PM]
Excellent work Dave, quite the transformation
AngryHorse   [03 Feb, 2019 at 06:24 PM]
That’s just stunning Dave, you’re certainly the master restoration guy with those old bowls! Cool , just how long does it take to get one like this?
Dave   [03 Feb, 2019 at 08:43 PM]
Because its Diakon, about half an hour to an hour of sanding, and depending on how well you've smoothed out with 1200 grit, polishing with brasso can range from another half hour to an hour half.

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