I decided to try vinegar and salt, having had excellent luck on brass before
with it. It worked amazingly well. I made up the solution in a little disposable
tupperware and put in a handful of tips and stuck it in the microwave for a
minute to let it get hot again, then simply took them out and rinsed them in hot
water, wearing rubber gloves. I didn't see any etching or weirdness and they now
all look new. Pretty surprising to see them go from dark brown to shiny copper
in a minute.

Grant

Harold and Susan Vordos wrote:

"Grant Erwin" wrote in message
...

I got a lot of really old but almost entirely unused Airco torch tips

today.

Many are of a kind I've never seen before. They are *old* new old stock,

maybe

WWII vintage judging by other items in the same lot. They came in original
cardboard tubes which weren't airtight, and they have almost all

tarnished. I

don't care if a torch tip is shiny or not, but I'm trying to read the

number off

the things, and polishing 49 tips with Brasso would be tedious. I'm

wondering if

there isn't some passive method like an overnight soak in citric acid or

maybe

vinegar and salt that would clean off the tarnish safely.

Anyone?

Grant Erwin
Kirkland, Washington


Copper will not dissolve in sulfuric acid, but oxides do. You can restore
them to almost new looking condition by pickling them in such an acid.
Heating the acid will accelerate the cleaning action. (Tried method, not
something I read).
Don't use metal vessels. Wash well with clean water afterwards. An old
auto battery might be a source of acid, assuming you can't find it
elsewhere. Protect your eyes and hands. Yeah, I know, you already know
that. :-)

Hope this helps-----that's a lot of polishing otherwise.

Harold