Polishing Brass

[Dartagnan]

I would like to maintain the brass on our boat in a good condition.  Now I realise or think that Brasso is probably the product that many use however my wife states that she uses ‘Bar Keepers Friend’ at home and much prefers it to Brasso.  Does anybody else use this or have they tried it? 

I made a video of the items that should be cleaned/polished and sent it to the wife via email.  I wasn’t brave enough to point it out in person but the outcome was the same.  Ouch  

Obviously as it now appears that the responsibility for this dept is to fall on my shoulders I would like to use the product that is the easiest to use!

[TheBiscuits]

7 minutes ago, Dartagnan said:

Obviously as it now appears that the responsibility for this dept is to fall on my shoulders I would like to use the product that is the easiest to use!

"ACME miracle brass polish does half the work for you!"

"I'll take two tins!"

[rusty69]

1 minute ago, TheBiscuits said:

"ACME miracle brass polish does half the work for you!"

"I'll take two tins!"

Also known as "paint" 

[mrsmelly]

Life is too short. Besides you are just damaging the surface of the brass. Painting is the way to go.

[dmr]

Brown sauce with a bit of salt added is not bad, and cheaper, followed by a good coating of Incralac.

.................Dave

[WotEver]

15 minutes ago, dmr said:

Brown sauce with a bit of salt added is not bad, and cheaper, followed by...

... licking it off. 

[Dartagnan]

21 minutes ago, dmr said:

Brown sauce with a bit of salt added is not bad, and cheaper, followed by a good coating of Incralac.

.................Dave

What a good idea!  Sadly I had already ordered some of the BKF from Amazon by the time I read your post.  However I have a few pipes in the engine room that are copper.  I will use them to compare the two methods

9 minutes ago, WotEver said:

... licking it off. 

Isn’t salt bad for your health?  

[Melita]

I've found this to be very good

 

https://www.tripeek.com/

 

[Momac]

Bar keeper friend power cream is one of those  items I am never without on the boat. It is certainly good at cleaning tarnish off  brass but does leave a white residue which should be washed off with water.

Peek Polish is good for a real shine on brass and other metals or plastics.

 

 

[WotEver]

4 minutes ago, MartynG said:

Bar keeper friend power cream is one of those  items I am never without on the boat. It is certainly good at cleaning tarnish off  brass but does leave a white residue which should be washed off with water.

Barkeepers Friend can also help with dark water stains in wood such as oak - it’s the oxalic acid that does the trick. 

[Dartagnan]

11 minutes ago, Kev's Halcyon said:

I've found this to be very good

 

https://www.tripeek.com/

 

Thank you.  I like the sound of that particularly the protective coating.  If it’s good enough for her maj and Harley Davidson bikes it’s good enough for me.  It’s next on my ‘to try’ list

8 minutes ago, MartynG said:

Bar keeper friend power cream is one of those  items I am never without on the boat. It is certainly good at cleaning tarnish off  brass but does leave a white residue which should be washed off with water.

Peek Polish is good for a real shine on brass and other metals or plastics.

 

 

Thank you for the confirmation re BKF and Peek Polish.  Nice to know they are both good.

2 minutes ago, WotEver said:

Barkeepers Friend can also help with dark water stains in wood such as oak - it’s the oxalic acid that does the trick. 

I would never of dreamt of using BKF on wood for that purpose.  That’s very good to know should I ever have that issue.

Thank you.

 

[pete.i]

It doesn't really matter what you use to clean your brass as long as it is some sort of metal polish. It will be hard work no matter what so the idea is to do it once then put somethoing on to keep the shine as long as possible. As suggested Incralac is good but use the spray as brushing it on, unless you are a clever person like everybody else on this board, will leave brush marks. If you don't want shiny then just let them corrode and look c**p.

[Dartagnan]

1 hour ago, Kev's Halcyon said:

I've found this to be very good

 

https://www.tripeek.com/

 

Just ordered!  Thanks for the information 

3 minutes ago, pete.i said:

It doesn't really matter what you use to clean your brass as long as it is some sort of metal polish. It will be hard work no matter what so the idea is to do it once then put somethoing on to keep the shine as long as possible. As suggested Incralac is good but use the spray as brushing it on, unless you are a clever person like everybody else on this board, will leave brush marks. If you don't want shiny then just let them corrode and look c**p.

Will order the incralac spray.  Brushwork is not my forte 

Thank you for the tip.

[mark99]

I use sol autolsol or whatever it's called.

[Dartagnan]

Just now, mark99 said:

I use sol autolsol or whatever it's called.

That’s what I used on the m/c.  Naturally left it back in NI so just forked our a fortune for other products  

Thank you 

[mark99]

NP. I do use Brasso but find AuotoS give same results with less elbow grease. It's slightly abrasive.

[mrsmelly]

27 minutes ago, pete.i said:

It doesn't really matter what you use to clean your brass as long as it is some sort of metal polish. It will be hard work no matter what so the idea is to do it once then put somethoing on to keep the shine as long as possible. As suggested Incralac is good but use the spray as brushing it on, unless you are a clever person like everybody else on this board, will leave brush marks. If you don't want shiny then just let them corrode and look c**p.

Or of course there is the common sense approach nice matt uprights with lovely gloss finish like this

 

6 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:

Or of course there is the common sense approach nice matt uprights with lovely gloss finish like this

 

Which means more time for boating or for this.............

 

VID-20180404-WA0001.mp4

Edited April 5, 2018 by mrsmelly

[Dartagnan]

1 minute ago, mark99 said:

NP. I do use Brasso but find AuotoS give same results with less elbow grease. It's slightly abrasive.

Thanks for the update.  I will try them all and see which is the easiest and shiniest

 

1 minute ago, mrsmelly said:

Or of course there is the common sense approach nice matt uprights with lovely gloss finish like this

 

Good God it looks like someone is growing toadstools or has some unmentionable disease.   

[zenataomm]

Jim Mc D put me on to Bar Keepers Friend.  It does get the verdigris off quicker than Brasso but I found to get that golden finish it was best to then go over them again with Brasso. 

BKP alone leaves brass very clean but a little white and 2 dimensional in its finish.

I've now discovered paint and it's wonderful, it lets me get on the move in the mornings so much quicker, also it deters the covetous eyes of scrotes.

 

[howardang]

I use BKF for badly tarnished brass and find it very effective. For day today use I am a convert to Peek which I find very good in maintaning a high shine. An added bonus is that it doesn't have such a pungent smell! I also find Autosol very good for the job.

Howard

[Dartagnan]

1 minute ago, howardang said:

I use BKF for badly tarnished brass and find it very effective. For day today use I am a convert to Peek which I find very good in maintaning a high shine. An added bonus is that it doesn't have such a pungent smell! I also find Autosol very good for the job.

Howard

That sounds good to me!  Whilst I don’t have any brass that is tarnished I think I will follow a similar regime.

Thank you

[Dartagnan]

@mrsmelly

I never realised you were into wake boarding 

It seemed a dreadful waste of Guinness to me 

 

[Jen-in-Wellies]

59 minutes ago, Dartagnan said:

Good God it looks like someone is growing toadstools or has some unmentionable disease.   

Did someone mention toadstools?

 

Edited April 5, 2018 by Jen-in-Wellies

[Sir Nibble]

You should polish up the brass so carefully and then you'll be the ruler of the Queens navy.

[Murflynn]

1 hour ago, Dartagnan said:

 

Good God it looks like someone is growing toadstools or has some unmentionable disease.   

the Scarlet Pimpernel lives here