Ive got a new past time......Polishing Brass

[Rata Road]

My latest arrival is a veteran with Brass bits. It looks amazing when cleaned up and i have found myself spending a bit of time each night polishing.

What method do you use?

A friend started off using Brasso but that took about 6 goes to get a good shine. He tried a steel pad, fine sandpaper etc which cut the amount of Brasso rubs down but time wise was about the same.

Then I tried autosol cream. This is much quicker but can still take 3-4 goes and plenty of rag.

 I found a YouTube clip on using acid, so I tried that yesterday and so much easier.

Hydrochloric acid mixed with water, 1 part acid to 2 parts water.

I put a cover down to catch any drips, used rubber gloves, dipped a rag in mix then wipe the brass object down and wipe away tarnish ( takes no effort at all). Then straight after a rag dipped in clean water to wipe it all off.

When dry it only took 2 goes with autsol to get a bright shiny finish.

 

[Hemi Joel]

Wow, good info, thanks. I've only used Brasso. As you say, it is slow.  It seems I never have enough time to keep all the brass on my Maytag looking good. I looked into having it coated, but that is really pricey. I'll try your method. What is the concentration of the acid before you dilute it?

[edinmass]

Of course, using acid will thin the brass over time, as it actually removes material. It will eat all the zinc in the material. It will also change the color over time.

[Paul Dobbin]

I sold our Brass Model T becasue of the brass polishing hassel.

[Terry Bond]

Yup. Be careful.  Have polished a lot of brass and results, amount of effort and time will depend on condition when you begin the project. I've started with brass so badly tarnished it was almost black. A dilute solution of lysol toilet bowl cleaner quickly applied and quickly rinsed off did wonders. Barkeepers Friend is another good product for initial cleaning. Polishing with Semichrome finished it nicely. Small soft brushes help get into all the crevices.  Post some photos of your handiwork. 

Terry

Edited December 4, 2023 by Terry Bond (see edit history)

[Walt G]

If you get a very fine plastic wool and use that with the brass polish of choice then you won't scratch the brass up and it is just a bit courser then a rag . I use that first then follow up with a rag and polish when most of the surface is no longer brown from tarnish.

To add to my friend Terry's comment about small soft brushes - YES, you can buy new tooth brushes in quantity , plastic handles and they are cheap. Great for cleaning all kinds of small spaces, and your favorite chrome cleaner can be used as a paste to get into the small spaces as Terry mentions.

 

Edited December 4, 2023 by Walt G (see edit history)

[wayne sheldon]

3 hours ago, edinmass said:

Of course, using acid will thin the brass over time, as it actually removes material. It will eat all the zinc in the material. It will also change the color over time.

 

I try to avoid using significant acids or even strong bases for brass cleaning. Those chemicals do draw the softer metals (zinc) out of the brass, result in hardening of the brass, and sheet brass like in headlamps or radiators become more brittle and prone to cracking.

A couple years ago, I started working on a really nasty looking brass radiator for future use on one of my brass era Ts. I mixed a diluted molasses bath, and after taking the radiator halfway apart, left the pieces in the bath for about two months.

During the soaking, I pulled pieces out several times to check their apparent condition. After the long bath, the color of the brass was a bit on the red side, indicating some loss of zinc. However, the dented pieces straightened well, and there has been no other sign of material damage. I haven't been able to get back to it and finish it for two years now, but am hoping I can finish it and hopefully have a usable radiator.

I was hesitant to use even that mild of an acidic solution, however, the radiator was so bad that repair would have been nearly impossible without it. I need to spend a couple hours soldering to reassemble it. I had bought it years ago off eBay really cheap expecting to only use it for pieces (back before shipping cost skyrocketed!). Upon receiving it, I found it to be in better condition than I expected, in spite of the obvious corrosion and badly dented upper tank.

 

I tend to like the look of slightly tarnished brass. Our local HCCA Regional Group used to have an annual "green brass" tour in late winter. The idea was to bring the brass era car out for one tour before spending a day polishing the brass for the tour season.

[Fordy]

Worcestershire sauce for that stubborn tarnish. You won't believe how effective the stuff is and it's not bad on steak and eggs either.

Steve

[Rata Road]

Hemi I took a pic of what I used. A neighbor gave it took me and I hadn't read the label.

Looks to be only 33% acid so maybe I could have used it straight as I diluted it to another 33% so it was only 11%!

It worked great at 11%, maybe next time on a really aged bit of brass I use it straight out of the bottle (33%). 

 

[cxgvd]

Everyone has the perfect solution, pun intended, to polishing brass.  I use a variable speed polisher with two 8" cotton wheels, one loaded with red jewelers rouge compound and the other clean.  The speedometer on the left is good as found and the other took about a half hour buffing on the discs.  When the brass is polished I coat the parts with paste wax, vegetable oil is good preservative too.

 

Regards, Gary

[Rata Road]

cxgvd - I'm interested in you saying vegetable oil is a good preservative.

I wasn't going to do anything after it is polished as its much quicker job now but do you just rub the oil in after its polished?

Also does it make it harder to clean again next time?

 

  

 

 

[Scooter Guy]

Doesn't the vegetable oil go rancid or get sticky? 

 

Coating with wax after polishing makes sense. 

 

Have any of you ever used Renaissance Wax after polishing? I've had good luck with it on polished metals. A little goes a long way. 

[prewarnut]

I agree rouge is a good way to go as it won't scratch for the most part. The Barkeeper's Friend (mentioned earlier) can. I have to use that stuff every two weeks on two copper sinks we have but I'm not worried about scratches there. With the rouge you can rub a bar of it onto a white cotton cloth and then grip it with the hand and rub areas a rotary polisher won't get (e.g hand-rails, cowl molding, smaller hardware...) or as above charging a rotary wheel will get the job done nicely. Ideally when done a wipedown is needed to get off what remains and since the used rouge is dark (oxidized?) it can stain things....Here's a good professional grade example I use.

 

[bryankazmer]

If you must use acid, please remember to dilute by adding acid to water, not water to acid. The high heat of mixing can make it spatter if you add the wrong way.  

[Brass is Best]

Ketchup works well on stubborn tarnish.