REAL GLS floodlight

Salvaged from the side of a salvage yard (irony much?) comes this very old abused and disused REAL GLS floodlight, made sometime in the 60's to 70's at a guess. When I first saw it, it was very battered, with the bracket bent badly, the rim bent bad meaning its glass cover and ring wouldn't fit and were simply on the floor beneath. My best guess is that it was hit by something, deemed irreparable, and simply disconnected and abandoned, as it had a much newer PIR spotlight mounted just below it. Over time the fitting gradually deteriorated to the point the reflector inside was covered in lichen, moss, water and rust stains, the metalwork that the lamp holder fits to was also bent severely and the lamp holder had the remains of an old long neck GLS lamp in the socket. In some places the light has rusted through, and judging by how thin the metal is, I wouldn't be able to repair this with weld.

Since the place is closing down, I asked the chap about the old light and he said that it was disconnected 30+ years ago, telling me its been in the condition it had been for equally as long. He then said if I want it, grab the stepladders and cut the bolt holding it to the wall, and that I can simply have it.

5 minutes later, the light was in my hands. Getting it home, I carefully unseized every screw and bolt. It was during this process where I discovered the cable grip was made of lead, as my blowtorch began to melt it slightly. Once everything was loose and turning, I began to gently hammer the metalwork back out straight. The reflector saw a heavy clean with a scotch pad and brasso, and the glass just needed a quick wipe. One quick rewire, and fitting an old 150w Omega GLS lamp (also bought from the same place) I fitted the glass cover, possibly for the first time in decades, and then put power to it. Of course, its simplicity meant the light immediately sprang back into life, the signs of a restoration worthy fitting. This one will require all the rust to be ground back and treated, any and all holes filled in, and then a matching paint colour will be sourced to finish off.