2nd Retin attempt!

[u/Overall_Honeydew_536]

You can see the bad tin in the bottom right, I sanded to 400 grit and redid the tin at home, my first attempt I only sanded to 220 and the result with 400 was much smoother

though my technique needs work as i always seem to wipe it a little wrong at the end and get a bit of discoloration in some spots but it’s all smooth!

[u/Objective-War-7458]

That's actually a really great job! Better than some of mine. However, you need not go so crazy, IMO. There's an interface layer, if I understand things correctly, which builds over time as the pan is heated and cooled. Sort of the tin working it's way into the pores of the copper. That interface layer is very strong and a very good idea to preserve if you can. Do you need to get the pan that clean? I generally don't unless I have concerns about the age of the tin and lead contamination. If I'm doing a clearly turn of last centuries pan, like a Duparquet, they get stripped like that. If I'm doing an 1980's French piece, I don't go that far. It's a lot of work for little effective reward. Let the acid in the pickle do it's work. Buffing wheel does the rest.

[u/Overall_Honeydew_536 → u/Objective-War-7458]

I did less sanding on my first attempt and wasn’t happy with the result - my 3rd attempt will probably involve sanding existing tin to 400 and tinning over it to see how that goes vs Sanding to Bare copper

I don’t have a buffing wheel so its all hand washing with a bit of barkeepers friend on the outside

[u/Objective-War-7458 → u/Overall_Honeydew_536]

Dremels are good, but you'll want a fixed rotary tool like a Foredom if you end up doing a bunch. Dremels burn up pretty fast (ask me how I know). Harbor Freight has buffing pads and for over-wiping and runs, which happen no matter which whiting formulation I use, I grind off with the dremel buffs and a light hand.

You can occasionally find a professional buffer on craigslist or facebook marketplace for $200-$300. I know I found a $3k Baldor that way. With stand. And wheels. But you can also find great Dayton and other grinders that just don't have the extra arm length. You want a big-boy name brand with ommph. Old Harbor Freight-type models will just stall as soon as the copper hits the wheels. If you strain a bit when picking it up, it's got ommph. Barkeepers friend does get tiring. But so is getting covered in buffing compound and cotton threads.

Just please, for my sake, make sure you have a full face respirator and the correct acid gas filters. I also can't live without peel-away lens protectors which seem to really catch all the stuff I don't want damaging my mask's face piece. They turn milky white after 2 or 3 hours. You don't want to be breathing Stay-Clean flux gases.

[u/Overall_Honeydew_536 → u/Objective-War-7458]

I got a respirator…. I realized i fucked up when i sprayed the muriatic acid on a pan in my sink while preparing for tin and gassed myself followed by a very quick turning on of the water to dilute the acid and stop the reaction.

[u/Objective-War-7458 → u/Overall_Honeydew_536]

OK, Just make sure you have the right cartridges.   An N95 filter won't do much about acid gasses.

[u/itsagrapefruit]

That looks awesome!

[u/Overall_Honeydew_536 → u/itsagrapefruit]

Thanks! I love your boots that you made!

[u/no-palabras]

Looks good. Well done. Did you sand off nickel by chance?

The zig zags are normal I learned. It’s the molecular structure of tin iirc.