Uploaded January 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
FASCO Charleston 52" ceiling fan in antique brass, the first of four Charlestons that I recently saved from a local closed restaurant. These specific fans were massively important childhood fans, some of the early ones I saw that really drove my fascination because they had such different details. FASCO apparently did have some distribution up here, but what I've seen of it is very limited. This installation was the only FASCO I saw at the local level all through my childhood, with Disney World being the only other limited exposure. This fan is probably in the worst cosmetic condition of them all, which says a lot considering they lived in a restaurant for a few decades, because it's not even too bad. Worst remaining parts are some fading of finish on the badges, and darkening of the finish on the canopy. On the blades, it was like portions of clear lacquer had separated from the finish. I tried several things, but couldn't remove it or buff it with anything, so I ended up lightly sanding and rubbing a new overlay of finish back on because they looked simply awful. It's not perfect and there's still a little haze in some areas, as I was not looking to do an entire refinish job, but overall they look pretty good. They're just not quite the original FASCO look and finish anymore, being a bit more smooth and matte in appearance. I'm still cleaning as this video goes live, but these fans were coated in some of the toughest greasy residue I've yet encountered. Underneath, they're mostly cleaning up quite well, but I've had to let the blades sit with paper towels soaked in Simple Green and fully scrub the housings with warm water and Dawn to get them clean. Thankfully, these particular FASCO finishes are very resilient and mostly standing up. These fans seem to have been serviced at some level through the years, as the shaft bushings appear well-greased, and in this particular fan, the pull chain was wire-nutted back in, so I know someone's been in it before. With that considered, so far they seem to run well. Maybe slightly dry bearings, but still smooth. I am not doing any bearing replacements at this time; I just want to get them clean and any that may need it will be a future project.
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#CeilingFan
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FASCO Charleston 52" ceiling fan in antique brass, the first of four Charlestons that I recently saved from a local closed restaurant. These specific fans were massively important childhood fans, some of the early ones I saw that really drove my fascination because they had such different details. FASCO apparently did have some distribution up here, but what I've seen of it is very limited. This installation was the only FASCO I saw at the local level all through my childhood, with Disney World being the only other limited exposure. This fan is probably in the worst cosmetic condition of them all, which says a lot considering they lived in a restaurant for a few decades, because it's not even too bad. Worst remaining parts are some fading of finish on the badges, and darkening of the finish on the canopy. On the blades, it was like portions of clear lacquer had separated from the finish. I tried several things, but couldn't remove it or buff it with anything, so I ended up lightly sanding and rubbing a new overlay of finish back on because they looked simply awful. It's not perfect and there's still a little haze in some areas, as I was not looking to do an entire refinish job, but overall they look pretty good. They're just not quite the original FASCO look and finish anymore, being a bit more smooth and matte in appearance. I'm still cleaning as this video goes live, but these fans were coated in some of the toughest greasy residue I've yet encountered. Underneath, they're mostly cleaning up quite well, but I've had to let the blades sit with paper towels soaked in Simple Green and fully scrub the housings with warm water and Dawn to get them clean. Thankfully, these particular FASCO finishes are very resilient and mostly standing up. These fans seem to have been serviced at some level through the years, as the shaft bushings appear well-greased, and in this particular fan, the pull chain was wire-nutted back in, so I know someone's been in it before. With that considered, so far they seem to run well. Maybe slightly dry bearings, but still smooth. I am not doing any bearing replacements at this time; I just want to get them clean and any that may need it will be a future project.
Visit My Website: vintagefansandmore.com
The VF&M Blog: vintagefansandmore.com/blog
VF&M Merch: shop.spreadshirt.com/vintagefansandmore
Like VF&M on Facebook: facebook.com/vintagefansandmore
Follow me on Instagram: instagram.com/vfandm
Follow me on TikTok: tiktok.com/@vfandm
Follow me on X: twitter.com/vfandm
Follow me on Pinterest: pinterest.com/vfansandmore
Add me on Snapchat: vfandm
Consider shopping my Amazon Recommendations to support my channel*: amazon.com/shop/vintagefansmore
#CeilingFan
*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
