cleaning old brass/bronze fittings

[shantymanuk]

I have tried soaking in coca cola for three days ,a waste of time ,anybody know of any proven mateirials for the job
apart from hard rubbing with wire wool or braso

 

[savageseadog]

Sand blasting and/or hydrochloric acid

 

[Topcat47]

Sillit Bang works but you need to be careful as it is quite aggressive.

 

[Captain Coochie]

Isnt braso soaked in white spirit ? Soak them in white spirit then braso them ?

 

[PowerSlapper]

Dissolve 1 teaspoon salt in 1 cup white vinegar. Add enough flour to make a paste. Apply paste to bronze and let sit for 15 minutes to 1 hour. Rinse with clean, warm water, and polish dry.

Jules

 

[oldsaltoz]

Good one Jules,

Have also used lemon juice and salt to remove green crud from brass / bronze with some very good results, soak then scrub and rinse, repeat if required.

Avagoodweekend......

 

[Andrew_Fanner]

Cheap brown sauce. Bit surprised that Coke didn't do it.

 

[VicS]

A former colleague who collected brass millitary buttons always used ammonia for cleaning them. I have no idea what concentration he used but he always got the full concentation'880' stuff from the lab. worth a try but ensure good ventillaion, like do it out of doors.

 

[choppy]

Oxcallic acid great on brass - similar idea to the lemon juice / vinegar (brown sauce as well!)combinations really but more aggressive

 

[Guest]

lemon juice and vinegar ....

or


strong mix of kettle descaler ....

large jar of Silver dip ... but then thats not cheap !!

 

[PJCC99999]

Once you get it clean - spray it with a can of clear coat lacquer. This normally save polishing for a year or 2. Unless its a working piece such as a cleat.

 

[srp]

It's not compulsory to clean them. In fact a purist would argue that you shouldn't polish them at all, just enjoy the patina. I never cleaned any of the bronze on my 1938 gaffer when I owned it - total waste of time as it only stays shiny for a week or so.
At the other end of the spectrum you could do what the America's Cup boats do and have all your bronze fittings gold-plated - that will keep them shiny.

 

[Seal_surfer]

Toilet descalers should do - either hydrochloric or citrus based. Can have dramatic effect with negligible effort if conecntrated enough.

 

[tugboat]

When I refurbed my last boat I had a load of bronze opening portlights to clean. I bought the cheapest malt vinegar from the supermarket , soaked each one overnight and then scrubbed and rinsed. They came up a treat. Once the boat was launched, they went green again but looked good against the white paintwork.

 

[Hoolie]

Oxalic acid (aka teak restorer) works instantly on copper and brass but not I'm sure about the resulting colour used on bronze