I restored this vintage mining lantern from East Germany, DDR. It's very rusty and the  battery is completely dead. I bought this awesome looking lantern couple months ago from a flea market.

I started with disassembly. Interestingly the battery had leaked inside of the lantern but none of the liquid seemed to come out which was an excellent sign. all the seals were in good condition despite of the rust on the body.

I used laser cleaning device from W2M laser. They lend me one of their devices whenever I need one. You can find more info about them from here: https://laser.w2m.fi/?lang=en The laser will burn old paint and rust and leave clean surface to be painted or welded etc.

I fixed most of the dents and filled pitting from rust with filler. Then I applied base coat, and either red or black paint and finished with automotive 2K clear coat. 2K clear coat will ensure the paint will last a lifetime. A lot of times 1K paint of clear coat will not last in use or if you spill oil or gasoline on it
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All the…