In the quest for making tarnish-resistant metal products, I am
reminded of my mother’s brass/bronze flatware called Dirilyte. It
was popular in the 50’s when she was married. We were forever
polishing it to remove the grey/black tarnish until the late 60’s
when she returned it to the factory to be coated with their “Bonded
Protection” process. It is some sort of thin, transparent coating.
Since then, no polishing has been necessary. We use the flatware,
wash in hot soapy water, put in the dishwasher, etc., without any
ill effect. My mother has always said that it is some sort of polymer
coating.
Soooooo, now for the 64 thousand dollar question - what is this
coating? How is it applied? Is it effective in protecting other
metals?
Whoa, Dirilyte that does not need polishing. That is new to me. I
wonder if the factory is still in existence. If so I will certainly
want to have them coat my set of Dirilyte which is packed away and
never used as it was a pain to keep clean.
I don’t know anything about the coating or process, but Dirilyte was
manufactured right here in my town, Kokomo, Indiana. The factory has
been closed for years now. I took over as manager for a regional
chain jewelry store with a huge giftware/tabletop goods department
just a couple months before they closed. People went berserk trying
to complete their sets before existing inventory was gone. But I
never became familiar with the product line before they became
history.
Whoa, Dirilyte that does not need polishing. That is new to me. I
wonder if the factory is still in existence. If so I will
certainly want to have them coat my set of Dirilyte which is packed
away and never used as it was a pain to keep clean.
The Dirilyte Company’s web site http://www.dirilyte.com/polish.cfm
refersto Dirilyte with BP (bonded protectant). They mention selling
polish for non-BP Dirilyte, but not the BP process. Elsewhere on the
web, there is discussion that the original company is out of
business. The existing company’s contact info is 1-574-267-3525 or
email djh@dirilyte.com.
In 1972, this diversification included acquiring the assets and many
of the employees of The Dirilyte Company, a Kokomo-based manufacturer
of bronze flatware and hollowware. In the same year, the company
expanded into metal plating with the purchase of a small operation in
Warsaw.
You might want to contact Hand to see if they have info on the
process.
Hand Industries, Inc.
315 S Hand Ave
Warsaw, IN 46580 USA
(574)267-3525