life with a Tiltall tripod

No, that's part of the joy of owning them! If you want them shiny, use Mother's Mag Wheel Polish. You could coat them with something, but I'd be afraid of gumming it up. I keep a very light film of oil on the lower sections.

Gotcha, great show pieces but a bit messy to use in practice. Thank you

A limited use of Armaflex pipe insulation of the correct inner diameter, thin wall, self sealing might work and certainly would make carrying and handling more comfortable and warmer.

Yes, pipe foam could certainly work. I use that on other tripods as well. Thank you

My Tiltall tripods were in my study when it was destroyed by fore. My black model only needed to be whipped with wet paper towel and looked like new. The silver anodized one was encrusted and looked corroded, so I made a claim for it. Later, before putting in trash, gave it a second look. Discolorization is permanent, and a little stiff. Will try WD40 to loosen up.

A question: I bought silver one at local pawn shop in late 1970s. The center column has a place of felt that is bit by bit descending down the column. Is this cloth factory installed, or a fix by pawn shop? I paid $15 for tripod.