Hello!

A very short and simple question.. I am going to paint my front door
and add some traditional Brass Victorian style knockers and knobs etc.
However I am leaving the existing letterbox in place. This is also
brass (I think) and is looking rather shabby since it has been expeosed
to the elements for many years.

Does anybody know of any good methods for cleaning the surface to make
it shine again? I'm sure there must be some simple old wives way of
doing this that has good results

Cheers

Tom

"Thomarse" wrote in message
ps.com...
Hello!

A very short and simple question.. I am going to paint my front door
and add some traditional Brass Victorian style knockers and knobs etc.
However I am leaving the existing letterbox in place. This is also
brass (I think) and is looking rather shabby since it has been expeosed
to the elements for many years.

Does anybody know of any good methods for cleaning the surface to make
it shine again? I'm sure there must be some simple old wives way of
doing this that has good results

You can still buy Brasso.

To clean it chemically before polishing it I'd paint it with a limescale
treatment. It's a bit aggressive (HCl) but it works and it's quicker than a
mild acid such as like lemon juice or vinegar. Then polish with Brasso or
some other proprietary brass/copper cleaner. It will be like new!

Mary

Cheers

Tom

On 14 Dec 2006 04:12:13 -0800, Thomarse wrote:

Does anybody know of any good methods for cleaning the surface to make
it shine again? I'm sure there must be some simple old wives way of
doing this that has good results

Unless it's really bad, take it off an bung it in a dish of vinegar for
few hours. Troubles is unless you laquer it (and your knockers, oh er
missus) they will tranish fairly rapidly. You could just keep polishing
them but unless you are very careful you'll end up with polish residue
around 'em. This looks worse to my eye than nicely weathered brass.

--
Cheers
Dave. pam is missing e-mail

Thomarse wrote:

Does anybody know of any good methods for cleaning the surface to make
it shine again?

Soak it in cheap pickling vinegar for a couple of days. Don't add salt,
as that causes corrosion afterwards.

For a mechanical scrubber, use the plastic Webrax / 3M Scotch / Machine
Mart pads in varying grades, right down to abrasive-less green kitchen
scouring pads.

Don't use Brasso on cast brass. It polishes the highlights, but you
can't get the white deposit out of the crevices afterwards. Although
Brasso itself isn't too bad for this, the liquids are much worse.

To age cast brass, use the sawdust and ammonia process (posted to
rec.woodworking)

If youy expect it to stay remotely shiny then you're going to have to
lacquer it. This requires the right lacquer, as brass is fussy stuff.
Use Rustin's metal lacquer, which is a methacrylate.

In article om,
Thomarse wrote:
A very short and simple question.. I am going to paint my front door
and add some traditional Brass Victorian style knockers and knobs etc.
However I am leaving the existing letterbox in place. This is also
brass (I think) and is looking rather shabby since it has been expeosed
to the elements for many years.

Does anybody know of any good methods for cleaning the surface to make
it shine again? I'm sure there must be some simple old wives way of
doing this that has good results

First soak it in cheap vinegar - non brewed variety. That will remove the
hard surface oxide. Agitate with an old toothbrush or similar.

To polish, you can do it the hard way with Brasso etc or the easy way with
something like a Dremel and polishing pads. There are no doubt proper
pastes available for this but I find Farecla G3 - which is a car paint
cutting compound - works well. After it's bright and shiny, wash then
spray with a clear lacquer.

--
*Why is the man who invests all your money called a broker? *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Thomarse wrote:
Hello!

A very short and simple question.. I am going to paint my front door
and add some traditional Brass Victorian style knockers and knobs etc.
However I am leaving the existing letterbox in place. This is also
brass (I think) and is looking rather shabby since it has been expeosed
to the elements for many years.

Does anybody know of any good methods for cleaning the surface to make
it shine again? I'm sure there must be some simple old wives way of
doing this that has good results

I used toothpaste on mine and it certainly helped but to get it
completely renovated, I put a weak acid on it and it worked a treat.
However, within a short time it was back to square one as I did not
seal it with a lacquer spray - lesson learned the hard way.

Judith Lea
At home

On Thu, 14 Dec 2006 14:32:24 +0000 (GMT), "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote:

In article om,
Thomarse wrote:
A very short and simple question.. I am going to paint my front door
and add some traditional Brass Victorian style knockers and knobs etc.
However I am leaving the existing letterbox in place. This is also
brass (I think) and is looking rather shabby since it has been expeosed
to the elements for many years.

Does anybody know of any good methods for cleaning the surface to make
it shine again? I'm sure there must be some simple old wives way of
doing this that has good results

First soak it in cheap vinegar - non brewed variety. That will remove the
hard surface oxide. Agitate with an old toothbrush or similar.

To polish, you can do it the hard way with Brasso etc or the easy way with
something like a Dremel and polishing pads. There are no doubt proper
pastes available for this but I find Farecla G3 - which is a car paint
cutting compound - works well. After it's bright and shiny, wash then
spray with a clear lacquer.

You can speed up the vinegar cleaning by heating the whole lot gently
( smell a bit though ). Quadruple 0 gauge wire wool is excellent for
cleaning grimy brass - but will leave a fine matt finish. A
proprietary metal polish will bring back a shine...but it doesn't
always look right for cast pieces.

Before applying lacquer, clean the piece with lighter fluid and an old
toothbrush - this will effectively degrease the piece and remove any
polish residues.

I tend to feel that weathered brass looks more natural than polished
in exterior surroundings, particularly if it has a complex shape.

Regards,



--
Stephen Howard - Woodwind repairs & period restorations
www.shwoodwind.co.uk
Emails to: showard{whoisat}shwoodwind{dot}co{dot}uk

"Stephen Howard" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 14 Dec 2006 14:32:24 +0000 (GMT), "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote:

In article om,
Thomarse wrote:
A very short and simple question.. I am going to paint my front door
and add some traditional Brass Victorian style knockers and knobs etc.
However I am leaving the existing letterbox in place. This is also
brass (I think) and is looking rather shabby since it has been expeosed
to the elements for many years.

Does anybody know of any good methods for cleaning the surface to make
it shine again? I'm sure there must be some simple old wives way of
doing this that has good results

First soak it in cheap vinegar - non brewed variety. That will remove the
hard surface oxide. Agitate with an old toothbrush or similar.

To polish, you can do it the hard way with Brasso etc or the easy way with
something like a Dremel and polishing pads. There are no doubt proper
pastes available for this but I find Farecla G3 - which is a car paint
cutting compound - works well. After it's bright and shiny, wash then
spray with a clear lacquer.

You can speed up the vinegar cleaning by heating the whole lot gently
( smell a bit though ). Quadruple 0 gauge wire wool is excellent for
cleaning grimy brass - but will leave a fine matt finish. A
proprietary metal polish will bring back a shine...but it doesn't
always look right for cast pieces.

Before applying lacquer, clean the piece with lighter fluid and an old
toothbrush - this will effectively degrease the piece and remove any
polish residues.

I tend to feel that weathered brass looks more natural than polished
in exterior surroundings, particularly if it has a complex shape.

Yebbut are you going to be looking at it?

The problem with lacquer (she says, with sad experience) is that if it's
scratched it will tarnish under the scratch and it's a bugger to get back to
the metal. Far better to let it become oxidised again.

(aka tarnished

Mary

Mary

Mary Fisher wrote:
"Stephen Howard" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 14 Dec 2006 14:32:24 +0000 (GMT), "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote:

In article om,
Thomarse wrote:
A very short and simple question.. I am going to paint my front door
and add some traditional Brass Victorian style knockers and knobs etc.
However I am leaving the existing letterbox in place. This is also
brass (I think) and is looking rather shabby since it has been expeosed
to the elements for many years.
Does anybody know of any good methods for cleaning the surface to make
it shine again? I'm sure there must be some simple old wives way of
doing this that has good results
First soak it in cheap vinegar - non brewed variety. That will remove the
hard surface oxide. Agitate with an old toothbrush or similar.

To polish, you can do it the hard way with Brasso etc or the easy way with
something like a Dremel and polishing pads. There are no doubt proper
pastes available for this but I find Farecla G3 - which is a car paint
cutting compound - works well. After it's bright and shiny, wash then
spray with a clear lacquer.
You can speed up the vinegar cleaning by heating the whole lot gently
( smell a bit though ). Quadruple 0 gauge wire wool is excellent for
cleaning grimy brass - but will leave a fine matt finish. A
proprietary metal polish will bring back a shine...but it doesn't
always look right for cast pieces.

Before applying lacquer, clean the piece with lighter fluid and an old
toothbrush - this will effectively degrease the piece and remove any
polish residues.

I tend to feel that weathered brass looks more natural than polished
in exterior surroundings, particularly if it has a complex shape.

Yebbut are you going to be looking at it?

The problem with lacquer (she says, with sad experience) is that if it's
scratched it will tarnish under the scratch and it's a bugger to get back to
the metal. Far better to let it become oxidised again.

This is true..Tried lacquering brass on guitar parts..where it didn't
get touched it stayed OK..otherwise forget it. Gold plate lasts a bit
longer..
(aka tarnished

Mary

Mary

On Thu, 14 Dec 2006 19:42:00 -0000, "Mary Fisher"
wrote:


"Stephen Howard" wrote in message
.. .

snip

I tend to feel that weathered brass looks more natural than polished
in exterior surroundings, particularly if it has a complex shape.

Yebbut are you going to be looking at it?

Something very much like it, most days, yeah.


The problem with lacquer (she says, with sad experience) is that if it's
scratched it will tarnish under the scratch and it's a bugger to get back to
the metal. Far better to let it become oxidised again.

(aka tarnished

Good point...and if it's a brass knocker or knob then it's going to
get handled, and scratched....

Regards,



--
Stephen Howard - Woodwind repairs & period restorations
http://www.shwoodwind.co.uk
Emails to: showard{who is at}shwoodwind{dot}co{dot}uk

On Thu, 14 Dec 2006 22:47:10 +0000, Stephen Howard
wrote:

On Thu, 14 Dec 2006 19:42:00 -0000, "Mary Fisher"
wrote:


"Stephen Howard" wrote in message
. ..

snip

I tend to feel that weathered brass looks more natural than polished
in exterior surroundings, particularly if it has a complex shape.

Yebbut are you going to be looking at it?

Something very much like it, most days, yeah.


The problem with lacquer (she says, with sad experience) is that if it's
scratched it will tarnish under the scratch and it's a bugger to get back to
the metal. Far better to let it become oxidised again.

(aka tarnished

Good point...and if it's a brass knocker or knob then it's going to
get handled, and scratched....

Regards,

The National Trust use stuff called Renaissance wax which is available
in the internet from a couple of specialist suppliers. It stops the
tarnishing but doesnt chip or scratch like laquer. Just need to put
another coat of wax on each year

Anna
--
~~ Anna Kettle, Suffolk, England
|""""| ~ Lime plaster repair and conservation
/ ^^ \ // Freehand modelling in lime: overmantels, pargeting etc
|____| www.kettlenet.co.uk 01359 230642

Dave Liquorice wrote:
On 14 Dec 2006 04:12:13 -0800, Thomarse wrote:

Does anybody know of any good methods for cleaning the surface to make
it shine again? I'm sure there must be some simple old wives way of
doing this that has good results

Unless it's really bad, take it off an bung it in a dish of vinegar for
few hours. Troubles is unless you laquer it (and your knockers, oh er
missus) they will tranish fairly rapidly. You could just keep polishing
them but unless you are very careful you'll end up with polish residue
around 'em. This looks worse to my eye than nicely weathered brass.


Don't be tempted to leave it in the vinegar for too long or it goes
pink as the zinc (?) is dissolved leaving just copper at the surface.
If this does happen you have to do some hand polishing to take the
surface back down to the brass.

Robert

Mary Fisher wrote:

You can still buy Brasso.

To clean it chemically before polishing it I'd paint it with a limescale
treatment. It's a bit aggressive (HCl) but it works and it's quicker than a
mild acid such as like lemon juice or vinegar. Then polish with Brasso or
some other proprietary brass/copper cleaner. It will be like new!

Mary

I'm surprised you got away with it, and no-one changed the subject to
'Mary cleans her knockers with hydrochloric acid.'

I'll try it next time, sounds a lot faster than the vinegar.


NT

In article . com,
Robert Laws wrote:
Don't be tempted to leave it in the vinegar for too long or it goes
pink as the zinc (?) is dissolved leaving just copper at the surface.
If this does happen you have to do some hand polishing to take the
surface back down to the brass.

Yup. It doesn't take long to dissolve the surface coating anyway.

--
*I took an IQ test and the results were negative.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

"Anna Kettle" wrote in message
...

The National Trust use stuff called Renaissance wax which is available
in the internet from a couple of specialist suppliers. It stops the
tarnishing but doesnt chip or scratch like laquer. Just need to put
another coat of wax on each year

I'd forgotten about that! Our local hardware shop sells it, I might give it
a go - when I've got round to polishing all the brass in our house :-)
Thanks,

Mary

On 14 Dec 2006 04:12:13 -0800, "Thomarse"
wrote:

Hello!

A very short and simple question.. I am going to paint my front door
and add some traditional Brass Victorian style knockers and knobs etc.
However I am leaving the existing letterbox in place. This is also
brass (I think) and is looking rather shabby since it has been expeosed
to the elements for many years.

Does anybody know of any good methods for cleaning the surface to make
it shine again? I'm sure there must be some simple old wives way of
doing this that has good results


In addition to the comments here, you might find this page worth a
look.

http://www.bernards.co.uk/brass_door_furniture_faq.htm

Regards,



--
Stephen Howard - Woodwind repairs & period restorations
www.shwoodwind.co.uk
Emails to: showard{whoisat}shwoodwind{dot}co{dot}uk

Robert Laws wrote:

Don't be tempted to leave it in the vinegar for too long or it goes
pink as the zinc (?) is dissolved leaving just copper at the surface.
If this does happen you have to do some hand polishing to take the
surface back down to the brass.

Can one just rub the vinegar on the brass?
I have a brass standard lamp which I would like to clean,
but it isn't really practicable to soak it in vinegar, or whatever.

--
Timothy Murphy
e-mail (80k only): tim /at/ birdsnest.maths.tcd.ie
tel: +353-86-2336090, +353-1-2842366
s-mail: School of Mathematics, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland

On Fri, 15 Dec 2006 10:18:34 -0000 someone who may be "Mary Fisher"
wrote this:-

I'd forgotten about that! Our local hardware shop sells it, I might give it
a go - when I've got round to polishing all the brass in our house :-)

Nothing wrong with Brasso as far as I can see. Running a small
business I occasionally have the task of polishing the name plates
with the stuff. We have something that is a sort of wadding,
impregnated with the stuff.

I agree about laquer. Perhaps I should investigate this wax.


--
David Hansen, Edinburgh
I will *always* explain revoked encryption keys, unless RIP prevents me
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/00023--e.htm#54

In article ,
David Hansen wrote:
Nothing wrong with Brasso as far as I can see. Running a small
business I occasionally have the task of polishing the name plates
with the stuff. We have something that is a sort of wadding,
impregnated with the stuff.

Duraglit?

--
*Don't worry; it only seems kinky the first time.*

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

In article ,
Timothy Murphy wrote:
Can one just rub the vinegar on the brass?

Yup.

I have a brass standard lamp which I would like to clean,
but it isn't really practicable to soak it in vinegar, or whatever.

It shouldn't be so heavily oxidised as external brassware.

--
*One nice thing about egotists: they don't talk about other people.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

"Timothy Murphy" wrote in message
...
Robert Laws wrote:

Don't be tempted to leave it in the vinegar for too long or it goes
pink as the zinc (?) is dissolved leaving just copper at the surface.
If this does happen you have to do some hand polishing to take the
surface back down to the brass.

Can one just rub the vinegar on the brass?
I have a brass standard lamp which I would like to clean,
but it isn't really practicable to soak it in vinegar, or whatever.

I suggested using a lime-scale remover. I paint it on the item with an
artist's painting brush - not a nylon one but a hogshair one. I imagine the
same could be done if you used vinegar. It's an ideal way to apply anything
when the item is in situ, as in door furniture.

Mary

"David Hansen" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 15 Dec 2006 10:18:34 -0000 someone who may be "Mary Fisher"
wrote this:-

I'd forgotten about that! Our local hardware shop sells it, I might give
it
a go - when I've got round to polishing all the brass in our house :-)

Nothing wrong with Brasso as far as I can see. Running a small
business I occasionally have the task of polishing the name plates
with the stuff. We have something that is a sort of wadding,
impregnated with the stuff.

I occasionally have to polish copper lanters, I use the Brasso wadding too.

Mary