Cleaning Brass

westernman

westernman

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I have a fair few oil lamps, port holes, diesel heater etc in brass which are really quite discoloured and pitted. Any good ideas about how to get them back up to a good shine?

The usual brass wool and various cleaners work, but I will be rubbing away for centuries before I get it all done.

For some of the stuff (in particular the front of the Dickinson diesel heater), I think I might have to resort to 400 grade wet and dry.

Is there a better way?
 
Why do you want to destroy the patina???

Brass is brass is brass, just as copper is copper, bronze is bronze.

All weather and change their colours just as woods change colour too.

Patina/crusting/pitting are part of the ageing process. Why destroy brass's patina to make it look like gold????

Question: Do you 'restore' the teak on your boat???

M
 
No. I don't do anything to the teak deck nor any of the other unvarnished bits. But it is a uniform grey colour.

The brass is pitted - and looks misused and uncared for.
If it was just a consistent greenish colour, that would be fine (for the outside stuff), although I would prefer to have it shiny inside the saloon.......

Personal preference - nothing to do with logic are what other people like.

So I really do want to get rid of the pitting.
 
Hi, i have lots of brass to clean on my boat, it was like yours dull and pitted when i bought the boat, the only way i think is hard work, brasso and lots of elbow grease,it will soon come up and when it does its just a matter of keeping on top of it, Brasso is quite abrasive, you can use it on perspex to get rid of small sctatches.
good luck.
 
try rubbing with Lee and Perrins and leaving it on for a while, you may never cook with it again !!!!
 
michaelchapman said:
... ... I think I might have to resort to 400 grade wet and dry. Is there a better way?
Click to expand...
Oxalic acid will bring the shine back to copper and brass but I don't know how it would work on badly pitted metal. Obviously if the brass had been lacquered the results will be mixed, but try it on an unobtrusive area.
 
Sidol - for everything and anything.

First used it when I joined up (many years ago) to polish belt buckles and copper tunic buttons. Haven't found anything better since.

On the boat I've used it on oil lamps, clocks and barometer and even the stainless steel deck fittings (pushpit, granny bars, pulpit, stanchions).
 
Sorry to have been a bit trite ....

Salts of Sorrel (Oxalic acid crystals let down 1 to 10 in water) from any chemist mixed with grit-free woodash to form a creamy paste .... then its elbow grease to get the hard oxidation off. Wipe over with a damp cloth until it's clean. Finish with Brasso pads till they go black and then polish off with a lint free cloth ie an old tea towel. If you really want an almost zero maintenance finish then after your last shining polish, coat with 3 coats of brass lacquer and it will be good for upto 10-15 years as long as no water gets behind the lacquer.
 
Cillit Bang will attack the crud, but only elbow grease will remove pitting. As stated above, if any still have their laquer on, remove it first, varnish stripper wil do.
 
...and once you've got it nice and shiney, get some of the cheapest hairspray in the super market and give it a few coats of that.
 
I have for my sin's had to polish metals for a part of my job when i was a welder, i would recommend

1 start with wet and dry 400 like you suggested would be good, if really bad go to 240grit. If your brave or its really bad a flap wheel in a drill will do a good job.

2 use scotch brite pads manufactured by 3M (other people do them too available from engineering merchants) they come in different grades, grey is the harshest followed by green then red i think

3 then its on with the brasso and lots of hard work. an easier method would be to use a soft cotton polishing mop with a solid polish called soap in the trade think you can buy them both from the likes of machine mart and could use on an electric drill.
 
michaelchapman said:
So I really do want to get rid of the pitting.
Click to expand...

Many brass nautical items are coated withclear laquer. This starts to fail after a while and exposes the underlying metal and creates ths spots you describe.

To return t the original aearance you will have to polish of all the laquer and brighten the brass, then ither keep polishing or re-laquer.

I was surprised how quickly a brass clock and chronometer came from down andout grotty as you describe to it for captains inspection in about anhour or so using boat polish as it is all had on board. still not lost its shine weeks later.

My kids polished an old sailing ship mast light years ago and it to has kept its shine somehow??????
 
I was given some brown candle like stick things that you apply to a buff wheel fixed to an electric drill thats secured in a stand, thats clamped in a stanley frame, thats nailed to the pontoon.

But now I've been told that all the brass portholes etc on my boat should be chrome as she's a 1930s model. Even so theres all those dam Dunkirk plaques still to polish.
 
cleaning brass

If memory serves me I believe that CocaCola was mentioned for cleaning brass and copper items. Try using on a 2 pence coin first to get some idea of the time it needs to work,also easy to rinse afterward. Once done use some spray lacquer to retain the shine.
Vinegar may also work.

My 2p worth!

ianat182
 
Hi You are correct to think that you would have to remove the damaged pitted surface, 400 grit is a bit strong mind as you would need to polish out the scratches that 400 grit paper would cause. Try 800 under a small flow of water then 1200 and then 2500 paper then polishing with any metal polishing wheel to fit on a drill (ebay search metal polishing)
 
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