Brass Cleaning

[chudleighval]

Can anyone give me any tips on brass cleaning [apart from elbow grease]

We bought something in a white tub , it was a white paste, bought at a boat show

but cannot recall the name of it.

Any tips for cleaning the mushrooms would be great

Many Thanks

Val

[saltysplash]

Cillit Bang to get the initial scum off then brasso to polish up and then spray with clear laquer from halfords and they will stay shiney all year round

[bag 'o' bones]

Can anyone give me any tips on brass cleaning [apart from elbow grease]

We bought something in a white tub , it was a white paste, bought at a boat show

but cannot recall the name of it.

Any tips for cleaning the mushrooms would be great

Many Thanks

Val

 

Probably similar to 'Whenol'

 

Far superior to Brasso. After a number of years polishing beer engine brass I would never go back to using Brasso, far to much elbo grease required for that stuff!

 

Tip for cleaning very corroded brass is anything that contains acid really and a scrub with very fine wire wool. Probably best to try a small section first though with whatever you decide to try.

 

Might be worth googling 'cleaning brass' for a few more ideas

[Albion]

Can anyone give me any tips on brass cleaning [apart from elbow grease]

We bought something in a white tub , it was a white paste, bought at a boat show

but cannot recall the name of it.

Any tips for cleaning the mushrooms would be great

Many Thanks

Val

 

One solution (no pun intended) is to use a strong solution of vinegar and salt. Warm the vinegar up and dissolve salt into it. Brush on to heavily corroded brass, leave for a very short while, and then wash off. Can be repeated for heavily tarnished situations. Gets rid of the heavy verdigris very easily. The downside is that it is pretty corrosive to steel (the salt) so should be thoroughly washed off the surrounding area.

Another alternative is to use 360 grade (or finer) wet and dry (used wet) initially.

Then follow up either of these with brasso or whatever metal polish floats your boat.

Roger

[Grace and Favour]

One solution (no pun intended) is to use a strong solution of vinegar and salt. Warm the vinegar up and dissolve salt into it. Brush on to heavily corroded brass, leave for a very short while, and then wash off. Can be repeated for heavily tarnished situations. Gets rid of the heavy verdigris very easily. The downside is that it is pretty corrosive to steel (the salt) so should be thoroughly washed off the surrounding area.

Another alternative is to use 360 grade (or finer) wet and dry (used wet) initially.

Then follow up either of these with brasso or whatever metal polish floats your boat.

Roger

 

Another method (if your brass-ware is heavily verdigris'd'd'd, is to paint it with Phosphoric acid ( Jenolite is a commonly available form) - - leave it for 30 minutes, wash off, and then apply Brasso (or others) with cloth and grease of the elbow

[c c]

Any tips for cleaning the mushrooms would be great

Many Thanks

Val

 

If the fixing of your mushroom is by a central screw - Unscrew completely and put it on an electric drill - press into a cloth soaked in Brasso, switch on and one minute later ..............

 

When gleaming, spray with WD40 to keep air off it and the shine will last longer.

[musicman]

We use Bar Keekers Friend for the hard cleaning of brasses after the winter. Works well as it is a powder and "scours" the grime off with some water. For polishing, I use Autosol - a cream that's easy to use on a regular basis during the summer months. Finally, we picked up some oily stuff from a show a few years ago that I rub on after cleaning and it claims to keep them brighter longer!! (Can't remember is name just off the top of my head)

 

Philip

[Speedwheel]

Shiny sinks. Available from most supermarkets. Brilliant stuff!

[Laurence Hogg]

Another method (if your brass-ware is heavily verdigris'd'd'd, is to paint it with Phosphoric acid ( Jenolite is a commonly available form) - - leave it for 30 minutes, wash off, and then apply Brasso (or others) with cloth and grease of the elbow

 

This method can be very destructive. When we made brassware in copius quantities "cleaning" was always a question asked. Any acids will start to case harden the surface of the casting or metal sheet, this will eventually cause the item to crack. I have seen cast mushroom vents cracked by the repeated use of a certain well known supermarket "super polish" and have seen horns and similar spun brass components reduced to shreds via the same process. A stronger version of Brasso is good old T Cut available from motorists shops. Any product containing acids or organic acids should be avoided, particulary if your brass is the cheap Midland Chandlers style Indian sourced stuff or the Italian sourced die cast brass which contains quite often higher levels of zinc and aluninium, this brass tarnishes very quickly and often appears to be more bronze in colour (orange looking patches) after a while because the castings lose the zinc content on the surface.

Brasso is hard work but safe, other cleaners like T Cut are similar but coarser, the Halfords spray mentioned certainly works and is a good idea for saving energy!

[Timleech]

This method can be very destructive. When we made brassware in copius quantities "cleaning" was always a question asked. Any acids will start to case harden the surface of the casting or metal sheet, this will eventually cause the item to crack. I have seen cast mushroom vents cracked by the repeated use of a certain well known supermarket "super polish" and have seen horns and similar spun brass components reduced to shreds via the same process. A stronger version of Brasso is good old T Cut available from motorists shops. Any product containing acids or organic acids should be avoided, particulary if your brass is the cheap Midland Chandlers style Indian sourced stuff or the Italian sourced die cast brass which contains quite often higher levels of zinc and aluninium, this brass tarnishes very quickly and often appears to be more bronze in colour (orange looking patches) after a while because the castings lose the zinc content on the surface.

Brasso is hard work but safe, other cleaners like T Cut are similar but coarser, the Halfords spray mentioned certainly works and is a good idea for saving energy!

 

The 'salt and vinegar' method is another acid, the vinegar itself is of course acidic but reacts with salt to form ?hydrochloric? acid or similar (I'm not a chemist).

Salt in vinegar solution is quite a good non-abrasive way for removing rust from small steel components, soak them in a bath of the stuff for a few days, then wash very thoroughly & dry.

 

Tim

[bag 'o' bones]

This method can be very destructive. When we made brassware in copius quantities "cleaning" was always a question asked. Any acids will start to case harden the surface of the casting or metal sheet, this will eventually cause the item to crack. I have seen cast mushroom vents cracked by the repeated use of a certain well known supermarket "super polish" and have seen horns and similar spun brass components reduced to shreds via the same process. A stronger version of Brasso is good old T Cut available from motorists shops. Any product containing acids or organic acids should be avoided, particulary if your brass is the cheap Midland Chandlers style Indian sourced stuff or the Italian sourced die cast brass which contains quite often higher levels of zinc and aluninium, this brass tarnishes very quickly and often appears to be more bronze in colour (orange looking patches) after a while because the castings lose the zinc content on the surface.

Brasso is hard work but safe, other cleaners like T Cut are similar but coarser, the Halfords spray mentioned certainly works and is a good idea for saving energy!

 

Hmm something I didn't know.

 

So the moral of the story is to keep your brass poilshed regularly with ordinary stuff so as to avoid having to get heavy with the chemicals.

[David Schweizer]

I use Astonish cleaning paste, (available from Wilkinsons) followed by Brasso. When I actually clean any brass!!

[Athy]

I wonder if the white paste bought from a boat show is Revive Power Paste? We bought some at Crick 2 years ago, though we have tried it only for cleaning our Rayburn (which it does quite well), must try it on some brass!

[Grace and Favour]

This method can be very destructive. When we made brassware in copius quantities "cleaning" was always a question asked. Any acids will start to case harden the surface of the casting or metal sheet, this will eventually cause the item to crack. I have seen cast mushroom vents cracked by the repeated use of a certain well known supermarket "super polish" and have seen horns and similar spun brass components reduced to shreds via the same process. A stronger version of Brasso is good old T Cut available from motorists shops. Any product containing acids or organic acids should be avoided, particulary if your brass is the cheap Midland Chandlers style Indian sourced stuff or the Italian sourced die cast brass which contains quite often higher levels of zinc and aluninium, this brass tarnishes very quickly and often appears to be more bronze in colour (orange looking patches) after a while because the castings lose the zinc content on the surface.

Brasso is hard work but safe, other cleaners like T Cut are similar but coarser, the Halfords spray mentioned certainly works and is a good idea for saving energy!

 

 

Thank you Laurence - - - I shall not ever suggest that again!

[Timleech]

Thank you Laurence - - - I shall not ever suggest that again!

 

There is a 'rust treatment' sold in little plastic bottles (Rustins?), basically dilute phosphoric acid, which also says on the label that it's good for brass cleaning. It works, too, but Laurence's observation has been noted!

 

Tim

[Athy]

Tim, I anointed the mushroom vents of our last boat with Ruspin's Liquid after polishing them with Brasso. It will keep them shiny, said the shopkeeper. Well it did, until bits of it began to flake off and we were left with blotchy mushrooms.

[chudleighval]

Thanks everyone , lots of ideas to work on [ and not to work on ] Just wish I could discover the name of this miracle

paste I once had !!!

Many Thanks

val

[Speedwheel]

My prefered method of stopping brass looking dull involves a tin of paint and a brush.

[soldthehouse]

The 'salt and vinegar' method is another acid, the vinegar itself is of course acidic but reacts with salt to form ?hydrochloric? acid or similar (I'm not a chemist).

Salt in vinegar solution is quite a good non-abrasive way for removing rust from small steel components, soak them in a bath of the stuff for a few days, then wash very thoroughly & dry.

 

Tim

Next time we have fish and chips should we just cut out the middle man and put hydrochloric acid on them....

[BEngo]

Next time we have fish and chips should we just cut out the middle man and put hydrochloric acid on them....

 

No need, there's plenty of hydrochloric acid in your stomach.....

 

To Laurence's point I belive that the reason strong chemicals risk cracking brass is stress crorrosion cracking. Hard drawn brass tube dipped in ammonia solution opens up like a flower.

 

For really dirty brass Amway Metal cleaner is pretty good at getting the muck off, and that's a white paste. I suspect that as well as an abrasive it also contains oxalic acid, which can also be found in Barkeepers Friend.

 

N

[Laurence Hogg]

Tim, I anointed the mushroom vents of our last boat with Ruspin's Liquid after polishing them with Brasso. It will keep them shiny, said the shopkeeper. Well it did, until bits of it began to flake off and we were left with blotchy mushrooms.

 

Thats the exact effect I was warning about. If you carry on, the pitting will start to form a crack. The post refering to Ammonia reacting on drawn tube is what we saw on some brass horns where folks had used a "super cleaner" I think at the time known as "System X" available then from Sainsbury's

[Grace and Favour]

Tim, I anointed the mushroom vents of our last boat with Ruspin's Liquid after polishing them with Brasso. It will keep them shiny, said the shopkeeper. Well it did, until bits of it began to flake off and we were left with blotchy mushrooms.

 

I suspect this Rustin's* you refer to is a clear cellulose based varnish . .

 

The trick is, after the Brasso & elbow grease, to clean the mushrooms thoroughly with surgical spirit, then polish with a dry lint free cloth, before applying the Rustins.

 

It should then last about a year before you clean them with cellulose thinners, and repeat with Brasso etc

 

 

*Rustin's is, of course, a corprate brand name - and they produce many dozens of traditional polishes, scumbles, dyes etc using this brand

Edited April 3, 2010 by Grace & Favour

[ditchcrawler]

I suspect this Rustin's* you refer to is a clear cellulose based varnish . .

 

The trick is, after the Brasso & elbow grease, to clean the mushrooms thoroughly with surgical spirit, then polish with a dry lint free cloth, before applying the Rustins.

 

It should then last about a year before you clean them with cellulose thinners, and repeat with Brasso etc

 

 

*Rustin's is, of course, a corprate brand name - and they produce many dozens of traditional polishes, scumbles, dyes etc using this brand

I did our portholes 8 years ago and apart from where the Rustins has been damaged they still look good.

[Grace and Favour]

I did our portholes 8 years ago and apart from where the Rustins has been damaged they still look good.

-A little suggestion - - depending upon how much brass you have to coat - - as the Rustins product is a little 'agricultural' - - - if you want a better finish - source some of the Clear lacquer coats from the Automotive trade . . they dry considerably quicker, of course, but in my experience are a much more durable product (make sure you don't apply on your paintwork though - - cellulose can strip acrylics rather sharpish!)

[Laurence Hogg]

-A little suggestion - - depending upon how much brass you have to coat - - as the Rustins product is a little 'agricultural' - - - if you want a better finish - source some of the Clear lacquer coats from the Automotive trade . . they dry considerably quicker, of course, but in my experience are a much more durable product (make sure you don't apply on your paintwork though - - cellulose can strip acrylics rather sharpish!)

 

We (Boatmans Cabin Co) experimented with various finishes, this included even gold plating which was very effective but a little expensive and would be ruined by anyone attempting to polish it! We tried several laquers. However one very sucessful trial used "Hycote" high temperature engine laquer, specially developed for show cars with immaculate engines etc. This has lasted over ten years on some cabin internal brassware and proved very good on external. Well worth a try.