Cleaning up old brass lights, horns, and trim.

[pistoncollector]

Does anyone out there have a secret brass cleaner that turns BROWN brass into the shinny kind? I recently bought a preteen car that has a lot of brass. It wasn't polished for so long that all of it is now BROWN. Regular polish doesn't seem to do any good. I suspect that I need to dip the parts in some sort of chemical to get them back to a basic yellow brass finish that I can polish. So, any suggestions?

[Shop Rat]

I have had good luck with Wenol. It works on every metal I have tried it on, shines up brighter than anything else and the shine lasts.

[Guest Stllrng.]

Try Lysol liquid toilet cleaner. Wear some rubber gloves because it is nasty stuff!

[1937hd45]

Before you use any spray on cleaner fill a clean bucket with water to nutralize the lamp once the crud is loosened.

[Guest 1959olds]

The military used to teach using aluminum foil dipped in water, then rubbed on the brass buckles, etc. Try it in an unseen spot, dry it, then wax it. I have done this, but believe it or not, depending on the softness of the brass it sometimes scratches it bad.

[Guest imported_oldmitchell]

Vinegar, lemon juice or the metal prep used before painting will all remove the brown without scratching if a soft cloth is used. There was a test of various brass polishes in the Gazette last year. I don't remember the winner but I do know that Wenol scored very high. I have used it for several years and love it.