Vintage Baby Scale

I have been slowly working my way into the family photography world and within that ever changing world you get to work with props. I have been building my stock of props and recently came upon this beauty!

Now, I know what you are thinking . . . what a mess and that rust, no one will want to put their baby on there! Well with a lot of research and some elbow grease things progressed rather quickly. I found many ideas online on how to get rid of the rust . . . Coke, vinegar, electricity, scrubbing with a wire brush . . . well I opted for starting with the wire brush followed by a vinegar bath. I started by taking everything apart (man I hope I can put this back together right!). There was even rust on the screw heads, I was bad! I cleaned everything with the wire brush, this was most effective on the baby tray. All of the other pieces went to the sink and soaked in a vinegar bath for 24 hours (minimum). At first it didn't look like much was happening but in the morning the bath was bubbly and dirty. After the 24ish hours I washed everything and rubbed them down with baking soda (suggested on the all knowing internet). Here's how everything came out . . . .

Wow! It looks so much better, but still, who is going to want to put there brand new bundle of joy on this? I followed up with a rust treatment spray found at my local hardware store and a two tone paint job (Heirloom White & Oil Rubbed Bronze). I love it and I'm excited to use it here in a few short weeks for my first newborn photo shoot!