100 Year Old Heating Vent Restoration

This heating vent was installed in one of the rooms in the house I live in. I wanted to shut the damper, but it was completely seized up. I was very annoyed by this, so I decided I'd restore it so that I can keep that room in my house the right temperature without stacking boxes on top of it to block of air flow. If I had to guess, I'd say this cast iron rusty old hunk of metal is about 100 years old since the house I currently live in is over 100 years old. Now that I've restored it, I expect this heating vent to last another 100 more at least.

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Products used in video:

[RestorationStation]

Thanks for watching. Would you guys like to see a DIY/How-to video on electroplating? Fill out the survey below!

[michaelweary]

Yes we had these in an old rental house we just moved into, and it was my job at like 10-yo to take them out, clean them and the ducts below... during that process I found a .80c diamond ring... it paid our rent for several months with that ! Probably been there for some 20-years !

[remyaworld]

I actually liked the brass fasteners more. Think it would have been nicer.

[theajthomas]

I was with you right up until you said you did not like the brass fasteners. Blasphemy!

[installerstore]

Looks great! Registers are one of the many overlooked DIY projects that can completely transform the look of your home. There are so many decorative and affordable options to choose from! :)

[amnesiacmyx]

So now how many other vents like that do you have to remove and restore so they all match?

[communismman]

Finally someone actually restores one of these great job!

[Flecha]

The grille is a work of art. I'm so glad you restored it. :))

[evilwarcow]

898 more to go! That mansion is going to be beautiful again.

[RavenMacy]

Lovely restoration however was not a fan of the black, it lacked ... something, definition, wow beautiful factor, just my opinion though

[thGenNativeTexan]

The little square metal piece you cut out needs to be slightly concave like the original. It was done that way to act as a spring/tensioner so that you can can make the flaps stay in a particular position with the control knob.

[bencoleman]

That a great looking restore for sure. I was always partial to the brass grates myself.

[rebeccamd]

Can’t wait to restore mine. Found 6 of these, 1 small wall return and 2 large floor returns siting in the corner at my new place. Going to use the 2 large returns as inlays in my bar cabinet doors & the rest in the house. So excited!!

[stephanedenis]

Hello, I watched several videos of your restoration. Very good job. Congratulations.
You should make videos (step by step with product descriptions) that show and explain how to remove rust (other than sandblast;)) degrease etc. And why not the plating and oxidation techniques? I'm sure it would interest a lot of people.
A new subscriber. :)

[henrysalami]

Wonderful video..great you included steps.. bringing the past back to new life. Thanks for posting

[deaddadd]

Finally! Someone who knows how to apply spraypaint properly

[mannye]

It would be a buttload of work, but maybe polishing a section of the lattice would really set it off. Not that it doesn't look great as is! Loved the resto job!

[dogstar]

Great job ! Thanks for sharing. I've got several of these in our 130+ year old house.

[wcsd]

Looks good. I've worked on a lot of houses with these, or ones like these and usually we only get as far and scraping all the gunk off and spray painting the top, or the customer wants them replaced. You did an amazing job.

[TeslaTales]

Nice work. Now time to install in your home!