Dear All,
We are remodelling a new store/workspace, and have (in sections) a
48’ x 9’ solid brass wall, with bevelled reflective glass inserts.
The brass is heavily oxidized. We are looking for ideas to clean it,
polish, then coat it for use inside our store. Any helpful hints
would be greatly appreciated.
Kevin Pugh
Master Goldsmith
‘Brasso’ for cleaning. I don’t know what might preserve the finish
once polished.
KPK
Simple way is to use absorbent mats and use white vinegar and salt.
soak the mats and leave on the surface. It will brighten the brass.
When tarnish removed use Brownpolymer on a cotton buffing pad and
buff the surface. It will shine the brass and leave a film to stop
further tarnishing. May take some Yankee innovative to hold the mats
to the surface. But have been experimenting with this and it work
easy just wetting paper towels and laying them on the surface it
remove old tarnish
Thanks Randy Aka Enjen Joes
Good Day to all,
For this kind of project I would visit an auto store and get a large
orbital car polisher and a case of the large buffing covers, the
fluffy kind. An orbital will be less likely to leave swirl marks.
With that, pick up a can of very fine finishing compound. Compounds
have several different grits so get the finest grit possible so you
do not scratch the metal. Add a good wax for final coat to protect
and you should be set for hours of fun. There are allot of coatings
such as urethane or varnish that could be used. Being a full wall I
would think it would get scratched or marks on it over time. with wax
you can buff it out and re-wax without having to sand and refinish a
hard coat. Just a thought. Oh - one more thing, Go to the drug store
and get thermal wraps for the shoulders and elbows. Your going to
need them.
Rick McCann
Back when I was a young lad in high school, taking the mandatory
ROTC class, It was a pane because I really had to scrub it.
Then I accidentally spilled a bottle of Ketchup on my mom’s brass
table and discovered that it was bright and shiny from just wiping if
off, no elbow grease was necessary.
Your mileage may vary, but it’s cheap to try out. J
Nevr-Dull works well for polishing brass.
To maintain the polish keep using Nevr-Dull, Brasso, Simichrome,
rouge, Sunshine cloth, or one of the many other polishing products on
a regular basis, or coat it with a lacquer/preservative of some sort.
I was a Marine for 27 years. At least once per duty day, if not
more, I had to polish the brass items on my uniform, as did every
other Marine. Believe me, if there was a way to maintain the polish
without having to polish it every day we would have found it.
Mike DeBurgh, GJG
Alliance, OH