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Yearly Cleaning-1920s Pilot Air Service Major


mtnman
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I thought you guys might enjoy as much as I do, the post yearly cleaning beauty of these gorgeous 1920s insignia from an Air Service Major who was very likely a World War 1 pilot who stayed in after the war in the much depleted ranks of pilots during the twenties. I received these Wings and rank and collar insignia from the friend of the wife of the pilot. I tried diligently but she would not divulge the name per the request of the lady who had been her friend and the wife of the late pilot. When the crud and patina first washed away from these, I couldn't believe my eyes. It took years to perfect my little mixture of depleted and diluted tarnish remover and other super secret ingredients 😉 and I do not recommend anyone else try it unless they're ready to make the mistakes I had to make. But anyway here is the result of the latest cleaning this year. Enjoy...

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When I first purchased these, I had not perfected my cleaning process and they turned out relatively well but there was a lot of corruption still on the bullion but once I moved back to North Carolina a few years ago I had the time to work on it and the latest cleaning is nothing short of the best of the best, it got all the brown out!

IMG_20200603_155643_copy_875x656.jpg

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Wings rear. You can see the 1920s pilot wing with the thick silver construction and the massive findings with the exquisite pin assembly. Just beautiful, strong, elegant and powerful.

IMG_20200603_155233_copy_875x656.jpg

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Beautiful lapel insignia from the 20s with brilliant bullion work fashioning concatenated faceted bullion with coiled wire bullion.

IMG_20200603_160918_copy_875x656.jpg

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If you look at the 1920's bullion wing, you will see the exclusively 20's identifying patterns indicative of the period. The bullion for instance, has thickening padding beneath the shield bullion which raises it above on the depth dimension, the rest of the bullion.   The bullion itself has the french, WWI size and aesthetic to it. The shaping of the wing is exclusive to the 1920's variance between an extended linear aesthetic and this type which is more organic....

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I see you have yet to take my advice and go with the Brasso and grinding wheel approach.  Works with everything, even old bullion.

 

I've found for those tough stains, a little propane torch will work well in conjunction with a metal rasp.

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That's my Patrick, always steering me in the right direction 👍😜 !!! 😺 Timothy says hello by the way!

 

Also gentleman, regarding the Sterling Wing above, these sometimes come with a black backing of fabric with two holes to accommodate the pin and the catch. If you ever get the opportunity to pick one up with an authentic backing, it is a real treat. 

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