Hey guys,

Anyone have any suggestions about what I should do with my Portland Head? It has some serious paint flaking problems, mostly with the black on the lantern room, but also some of the brown on the roof. The black is so bad, that most of the roof and 95% of the ventilator ball are bare porcelain! Should I have a restorer touch it up? Will HL repaint it? Ideas???

A picture would be useful, but not necessary. I think you might talk to Rich (Flacoastie) about using his services to touch up the paint.

Is it being displayed near a heat source; in front of a window or air vent?

Harbour Lights won't repair it, but they may provide you with a list of 'professional' restorers.

This has been a strong piece in the line; Daniel can give you some idea of what it is selling for on eBay these days.

But talk to Rich...

I've never heard of a Portland Head having paint flaking. St George Reef is famous for paint flaking and some of the other original 17 have had reported flaking. It sounds like this piece may not have been cleaned properly or something is wrong in the way you are storing it or cleaning it. If it's as bad as you say then the only real way to fix it is to have it cleaned and repainted. It is NORMAL for the earlier pieces to have paint rubbed off from handling, especially on the sharp edges of the roof and lantern room areas, but not to peel off as you describe. My Portland Head has a little of the orange/brown roof color rubbed off at the edges and peaks of the roof but that is from handling.

I would first contact Kathy(800-365-1219) and see if Harbour Lights will repaint your piece free of charge or at a low nominal fee.

If not, then I will be glad to repaint only what is needed at no charge, except for you paying for the shipping charges and the paint(couple of bucks). Understand one thing though, I will match as best I can and blend in the colors the best I can but I can't garantee the paint job will match the colors of a 13 year old piece that has fadded unless the entire area is repainted.

Your third option is a restorer that may cost you up to $75-$100 dollars to repaint and take months to fit it in.

You also have the option to buy a new piece from Ebay, Forums, etc. for close to the same price.

If my offer interests you, email me at flacoastie@worldnet.att.net.

Portland head was one of the L.E.s that had flaking problem. Bill Younger told me that some were painted in a high moisture environment. Of the Portlands Head I believe that it was only those made in Malaysia that had the problem. In the past I know of one collector that Harbour Lights did repair the light for. But the collector did buy it from a retail dealer and not a secondary dealer. This was also back in 1998. The only three reasons that I see that HL wouldn’t repair it is that if you bought it from a secondary dealer, the fact that the Portland is 14 years old or the new owner of Harbour Lights may not feel responsible for things that happen before he took over the company.

This is assuming that it wasn’t in a hostile environment. I believe if some of the older lighthouses were left in storage in a none heated or air-conditioned attic or garage that could cause paint damage. Also like John stated your lighthouses should be kept out of the sun or direct heat source.

My Portland head had flaking on the roof. I got a touch-up kit from my HL dealer and touched it up myself and it never flaked any more. But the touch-up kits are things of the past.

The first thing to do like Rich stated is to call harbour Lights.
If HL won’t restore it free I would let Rich restore it. He has done two for me and I am very pleased with the work. But I wouldn’t pay for a so-called professional restorer. I would buy another Portland Head first. You should be able to get one for $100 to $150. If you are not worried about a box you could probably get it for around $75. The days of the $750 Portland Head are gone.

Guys,

Thanks for the thoughts. It is a Malaysian piece. I cannot vouch for how it was stored or displayed as it was given to me by my uncle who used to be a collector, but got out 5 - 6 years ago. This was one of a few he had decided to keep. I guess I'll call Kathy at HL and see what she says.

My Portland Head is flaking badly, too, in the same places you mention. I keep it safely tucked in the curio cabinet and never so much as breathe around it.