Cleaning brass lamp?

[stephen_h]

I want to clean an old brass lamp that hasn't been polished for years by the looks of it!
Any ideas on best method apart from mechanical polisher?
Could I soak it in Coke?

 

[sailorman]

brown sauce works, coat the iten & wrap in cling film, rpt as req then metal polish to finish

 

[sarabande]

Riggy is an expert in these arcane polishing arts. Send him a PM.

 

[RIBW]

I want to clean an old brass lamp that hasn't been polished for years by the looks of it!
Any ideas .....?

Have a read through a previous thread

http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?267175-Brass-lamp-refurbishment&highlight=brass
Covered loads of advice
Cheers
Bob

 

[Resolution]

Carefully select your three wishes and then rub like mad?

 

[Orion Jim]

Last wish is a wish for more wishes!

 

[vyv_cox]

There was a thread on a similar topic some time ago, started by Old Varnish, who wanted to clean up a badly neglected barometer. All the usual quick remedies such as brown sauce were suggested and OV tried them. None worked. The only real answer is abrasive cleaners such as Brasso.

I have been in exactly the same situation with a clock that had not been cleaned for more than ten years but Brasso did the job well, it has to be said with some effort. There are a few riders though - if the brass has been lacquered it may be necessary to remove that first, with acetone possibly. If the item is plated, rather than solid brass, no amount of rubbing is going to put back a surface layer that has been lost.

 

[Yngmar]

I've used Peek metal polish and some cotton polishing cloths. You'll want to use two cloths, one for applying and rubbing the dirt off, and one relatively clean one for the final polish. Wrap some cloth around your finger and dip it in the tub, picking up a little(!) polishing paste. Smear it evenly around and then polish it off until shiny brass appears (some elbow grease required). Your applying cloth is now black - that means you're doing it right. Take the clean cloth, breathe on the metal and rub until the brass is clean, shiny and any paste residue is removed. Repeat with a clean area of cloth until all is shiny (some cotton gloves may help with not applying new fingerprints on already polished areas while you handle it).

Then spray it with a can of clear lacquer, because if you don't it'll go dull/green again the first time it meets the tiniest droplet of salt spray. I've also tried a Dremel with polishing wheels, but a) the cheap polishing wheels were quickly reduced to flying fluff and b) it wasn't any faster - so I went back to doing it by hand.

 

[Kukri]

I live in a Suffolk market town that is well known for its antique dealers, and for an ironmonger which I bought a Primus stove from on my first visit by boat, in 1970. I asked the ironmonger what to use on "green" brass and bronze and copper which had been in prolonged contact with salt water, and was handed a bottle of descaler - not the citric acid one but a formic acid one.

"This is what all the antique dealers in this town use|!" he said.

I used it. You need gloves and care and don't breathe the fumes. Then go over everything with Brasso.

 

[tidclacy]

This is magic

http://www.arthurbeale.co.uk/acatalog/Polishing.html

 

[Rock Dodger]

I want to clean an old brass lamp that hasn't been polished for years by the looks of it!
Any ideas on best method apart from mechanical polisher?
Could I soak it in Coke?

I had an old brass door knocker that was almost black. I removed it from the door and left it for a couple of days submerged in a bowl of clear vinegar. Came up clean and then a quick rub over with an old toothbrush and Brasso to get it nice and shiny in the crevices. Then two coats of spray on lacquer. Looks like new.

But it does tend to make chips taste funny.

 

[Capt. Clueless]

Do what we all had to do in the forces. sit on the end of your bed with a can of brasso. Nothing finer than Brasso.

 

[Quandary]

This is magic

http://www.arthurbeale.co.uk/acatalog/Polishing.html

They do not waste many words, do they?

 

[alahol2]

Rainy days at anchor we used to give the kids a 2p piece and a bit of Duraglit wadding. Kept them going for ages. It always used to work well on the boat brasswork. Must get some more if I see it around.

 

[Capt. Clueless]

Here is a little song that you can sing whilst polishing your lamp. We used to sing it in the billet whilst polishing our kit........A shortened version.

"Now my old mans a bog cleaner,
He cleans by day and by night,
and when he gets home in the evening,
He smells of the smell of the

Shine your buttons in brasso,
it's only 3 ha'pence a tin,
you can buy it or nick it from Woolworths,
it's always full up to the brim.

Some say, he died of a fever,
some say he died of a fit,
but I know what my old man died of
He died of the smell of the...

Shine your buttons in Brasso....................................................

 

[Binman]

I have an ultrasonic tank that I use for cleaning brass, which I use with clock cleaner for my clocks,works a treat, will remove lacquer as well, look under clock cleaning products to find what you want. Have a look at Cousins clock suppliers on line.or the M&P clock parts catalogue on line.Lighter fluid is another product that works very well.

 

[MonniotC]

I have an ultrasonic tank

Wow! Don't let Putin hear about it. He'll want to get his hands on some of them, so he can park them on somebody's lawn.