Picture the warmth and shine of hundreds of polished brass and copper pieces and shelves of glass and china lamp shades and you have in mind Steve Springer's Lakin's Antique Metal Polishing Shop in Manhattan - a virtual paradise for those who collect and appreciate antiques.

"Lakin" comes from his grandparents who operated an antique and metal polishing shop for more than 30 years behind their old stone house at the corner of Fort Riley Boulevard and Westwood in southwest Manhattan. His grandmother still lives in the old stone house, which was one of the first in the area. Mrs. Lakin operated her antique business in a small building behind the house while Springer's grandfather ran a small metal polishing shop in another smaller building. Springer now runs his metal polishing business at the same location.

Ten years ago, Springer and his brother, John, took over the metal polishing shop from their grandfather.

"When I got out of the Army, I started hanging around doing it as a hobby," Springer said. He gradually began doing more and more of his grandfather's polish work.

"I was going to school at the time and didn't really care if I worked," he continued. Springer decided to become more serious about his hobby and go into the metal polishing business full-time.

The complicated steps in the metal polishing trade would be difficult to learn without a skilled teacher. Springer said that his grandfather taught him the craft as he worked with him over several years.

"My grandfather actually paid a man to teach him the craft when he became interested in it as a hobby," Springer said.

After their grandfather died, Springer and his brother operated the shop jointly for several years until 1979 when John left to open a similar shop in Los Angeles. Springer and his wife, Kris, now operate the shop together. Mrs. Lakin, Springer's grandmother, also assists with the shop. She no longer has an antique shop.

Springer handles all metal polishing assignments from antique copper washtubs to brand-new motorcycle pipes. But, his business primarily serves antique dealers and buffs with their antique copper and brass pieces. Springer's wife and his grandmother also operate a lamp hospital in which they make lamps, rewire old lamps, repair ceiling lights and sell new glass chandeliers.

They fix and repair antique lamps, polish brass lamps and chandeliers and supply new shades (reproductions) for all kinds of lamps.

Their specialty, however, is making a wide variety of antique artifacts into lamps.

"We make lamps out of just about anything," Springer said. His statement includes such items as old blow torches (popular for men), coffee urns, antique irons and old fire extinguishers.

Mrs. Lakin and Mrs. Springer also sell brass and copper reproductions in the front part of the polishing shop.

The brass and copper pieces include items made from antique molds including weather vanes and candle sconces. They are handcrafted from original molds.

Springer maintains that the reproductions he sells help to make brass and copper pieces available to anyone. "I appreciate antiques and their aesthetic quality but you can buy these reproductions at a third of the price of the real thing. Most craftsmanship was much better in the old days but in my mind, these reproduced pieces are just as good."

According to Springer, nothing on the commercial market can produce the same kind of shine he is able to get through his step by step polishing process.

"Depending on the condition of an article, we have several different steps in the polishing process including an acid dip," Springer said. The pieces are actually polished on a polishing lathe to achieve a brilliant shine.

Because he works with many irreplaceable antiques, Springer is reluctent to hire "out of the family." His sister is now working half days in the shop doing polishing. And, his wife, in addition to helping in the front of the shop, assissts with some of the refinishing and rewires lamps.

The essence of a shine on brass, copper or any other metal is that the surface must be smooth. It must be smooth in order to maintain a shine of any kind. After the object is completely polished, it is covered with a clear coating which will hold the shine for several years.

In the last few years, brass and copper pieces have become quite popular. They seem to accent wood pieces well and, with the resurgence of interest in all kinds of antiques, the metal polishing business is a busy one. Springer claims he can tell what is popular in antiques by what is brought in to be polished. Right now, fire extinguishers (to be used as umbrella stands, ashtrays, lamps, etc.) are popular. Brass beds were popular for awhile, then became hard to come by, and now are showing up more regularly in Springer's shop.

Although Springer works with many local requests for polish work, he estimates that 80 percent of his work is from out-of-town. He does polish work for many antique dealers who want to make their metal pieces more attractive to potential buyers by having them polished.

Brass and copper were at their height of popularity in the early 1900's, Springer thinks. He has noticed, from patents, that most of the pieces he has worked on date to the early 1900's. At that time, brass was a really inexpensive, plentiful metal which was usually painted to avoid future problems with tarnishing. Brass and copper were often used for items that were to be nickel-plated because both materials had the advantage of being good materials to plate over.

Springer said that discovering old brass and copper pieces that are either tarnished or painted is just a matter of educating the public. Many of the pieces have been thrown out by persons who were simply unaware that the pieces were actually made of brass. Ceiling fixtures are common cast-offs and Springer estimates that a new ceiling light fixture made from solid brass might cost around $200.

Persons wanting to determine whether or not an article is solid brass or simply brass-plated should take a knife and scrape a small portion of the item in a place where it won't show. Persons may also use a magnet and the process of eliminationto determine if an article is solid brass since a magnet will not stick to brass. If a piece is brass-plated and the plating is beginning to wear off, the piece will need to be replated rather than polished.

Springer handles some aluminum in his shop. These pieces are mainly car parts for show cars and motorcycles. He also does some silver polishing.

Lakin's Antique Metal Polishing Shop is open Monday through Friday from 8 to 5 or on weekends by appointment or by chance.

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