Buzz68 Posted February 21, 2021 Share Posted February 21, 2021 What polish is best on brass trim and brass lights and brass that highly corroded and tarnished Brasso - ok but still alot discoloration Wrights brass polish- doing better but same Tried several off the self metal polishs My buffing wheel and ruze not doing it either Any other suggestions to try 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsfarms Posted February 21, 2021 Share Posted February 21, 2021 Could you post a picture so we can see what amount of corrosion you are dealing with? You may need ot use some very fine emery cloth to smooth it out if it is not overly pitted. Al Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buzz68 Posted February 21, 2021 Author Share Posted February 21, 2021 Al mostly discolorations dark patches where it highly oxidized or etched Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikewest Posted February 21, 2021 Share Posted February 21, 2021 Use some DILUTED mereatic acid and a acid brush in all the nooks and crannies, hard to get places. It cleans it up fast. Then polish. Make sure you flush it well with water after acid treating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcrow Posted February 22, 2021 Share Posted February 22, 2021 Use Alum i brite (synthetic / make sure because many knock offs try to look alike but are acids) available thru Amazon. Will not hurt paint, BUT will put holes in your jeans. Brush on several times then wipe clean and follow with Wenol polish, also available on eBay or Amazon. Will take care of just about any tarnish.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsfarms Posted February 22, 2021 Share Posted February 22, 2021 Buzz68, If you can,post a picture of the worst of your brass areas that are being annoying and hard to polish/buff out. Good advice above but I like ot be very careful using anything harsh on fragile brass lamps. I go for the less evasive means to clean and polish brass. Al Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
playswithbrass Posted February 22, 2021 Share Posted February 22, 2021 I use 1000 grit sand paper then start buffing. Will also on larger areas use a da sander with 1000 on it,have one that use,s 2 inch round discs the kind for removing dirt nibs in paint. Cheers pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auburnseeker Posted February 22, 2021 Share Posted February 22, 2021 Boy 1000 is kind of coarse. I would use 2000 or 1500 if you don't have 2000 wet then buff. 1000 grit is pretty coarse scratches when hand polishing. I have also used a little dab of mothers mag and aluminum polish on the sandpaper. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsfarms Posted February 23, 2021 Share Posted February 23, 2021 auburnseeker, what is "mothers mag"? Al Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsfarms Posted February 23, 2021 Share Posted February 23, 2021 oops, I answered my own question. I think I will buy some and give it a try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auburnseeker Posted February 23, 2021 Share Posted February 23, 2021 (edited) Here is a picture of it and a fender I hand buffed out with it after sanding it out with 2000 grit. Edited February 23, 2021 by auburnseeker (see edit history) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
playswithbrass Posted February 24, 2021 Share Posted February 24, 2021 No not hand buffing,you have to power buff to get a good depth of shine and to be able to remove fine scratches. Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsfarms Posted February 26, 2021 Share Posted February 26, 2021 On this polishing question. What causes brass lamps to deteriorate and show red copper when polished. These are solid brass lamps not copper flashed. If I can get a picture of the offending lamp, I will post. Al Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Layden B Posted February 26, 2021 Share Posted February 26, 2021 Al. Brass is a mix of copper and zinc (bronze being a mix of copper and tin). If an acid corrodes out the zinc it will leave the copper which shows red. Mouse urine is the most common culprit. Can be very difficult to do anything about it. Sand down the area to brass if not too deep. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsfarms Posted February 27, 2021 Share Posted February 27, 2021 Here is a couple of pictures of a large Rushmore headlamp from my 1913 American-LaFrance fire truck. Note the side of the bonnet that has some serious issues and does not even show tarnished brass. I plan to do a couple of follow-up postings. One posting will be to show how simple cleaning with pedestal buffer and polishing rouge. If needed, I will post again after following the advice shared by Layden to lightly sand and see if I can get below the degenerated area and still have enough brass thickness to polish. I hope my additions will be of help to the original poster of this thread. Al Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsfarms Posted February 28, 2021 Share Posted February 28, 2021 Ok....today was a busy day but I did find time to go into the shop and crank up my pedestal buffer. I used red rouge polishing stick for my first attempt. Look closely at the two first pictures of the Rushmore headlamp then look at what happened after just a bit of effort with the pedestal buffer. Even I was impressed, with my efforts, as the surface did have some degradation. The next three pictures show my end results in the worst spot on the lamp. I only did the bad spot as I want you to be able to see a comparison. The second image shows a spot on the body where some degradation has taken place that is worse than even serious tarnish over time. Share your thoughts. Al Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MochetVelo Posted March 2, 2021 Share Posted March 2, 2021 Check out my videos where I test two tarnish removers. The first being catsup (not so great), but the second one worked nicely. Phil 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsfarms Posted March 2, 2021 Share Posted March 2, 2021 (edited) Hello Phil, Do you see any down sides to your "poltus" of flour, salt and vinegar? The salt probably chemically reacted with the vinegar with the flour being a carrier. I think I will try your Poltus on my next serious brass tarnish project. I was concerned with degradation of brass as shown on the Rushmore lamps above and not so much with tarnish. It makes me wonder if a previous owner of the Rushmore lamps may have polished with a harsher acid based concoction that resulted in the degradation visible in my first couple of Rushmore pictures. What are your thoughts? Edited March 2, 2021 by alsfarms spelling (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsfarms Posted March 2, 2021 Share Posted March 2, 2021 A second note on the Rushmore lamps and brass degradation. I think I was able to purchase those lamps as the owner may have thought they were too bad with brass degradation to be restored. It is good to learn about other tricks from other home restorers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walt G Posted March 6, 2021 Share Posted March 6, 2021 For heavy brass tarnish a friend who used to restore brass lamps here on long island advised me to use Naval Jelly. Not leave it on to long, but the acid in it did break down the tarnish. You can use a semi stiff bristle brush to move it around once it has started to break through the harsher surface layer of tarnish. Most important to thoroughly wash off the naval jelly once it has done its job. I used to squirt it off with water from a hose with a pressure nozzle. Once washed off completely with water, use a air hose to blow all the water out from the areas you can not wipe off easily with a rag. I never had an issue doing this and good results, got the lamp to the state it could be polished or as shown used on a buffing wheel. Biggest factor was to NOT get to enthusiastic with the water pressure nor the compressed air. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsfarms Posted March 10, 2021 Share Posted March 10, 2021 I have never used Naval Jelly. How does it work on rusted steel parts? Al Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now