Old Refurbished Tiki Torches

Last week Mr. Scavenger came home with a unique find of three aluminum tiki torches. They’re definitely old and their innards were rusted and gooped over. My husband recently stocked up on a gallon of Metal Rescue to clean out the gas tank of his ’81 Honda Passport, so we were ready for operation restore!

To clean out the first chunky layer he took a handful of vintage BB’s, a little of the solution and shook violently for about 1 minute before dumping out the gunky contents.

Round two of Metal Rescue was poured and left to soak for a solid 24 hours.

After a good rinse came a good buffer to get a little sheen back before they get weathered again.

Now this ammo-like yard decor didn’t come with stakes. We had some old dowels from my husband’s curtain-rod-bachelor days, but they were a little too thick, so we scored some old broom handles that my father-in-law had been saving up (for such a time as this). They were sanded and filed down to a point and stained a shade of green we seem to stain everything these days.

They fit, but were a smidgen loose at the top. One layer of string made for a snug fit.

We found a small stash of unused wick at home and purchased the oil before driving them into the ground.

It hit 102 this weekend and these made the necessary outdoor dining all the more enjoyable. For less than $25 total cost, we’re pretty stoked with the outcome of these broom handled torches.