OK, what can I use to clean brass, is there a liquid I can soak brass in and they come out clean..??????? Duane..
Brass what? I run dirty fittings, screws, etc. over a mild wire brush on the grinder. Slicks them up nicely. Press too hard, and well, you know. Then I hit them with Collinite boat wax if they will be obvious.
I think regular Carb cleaner will clean it up and then if you want to shine it up, Good old Brasso The old time GI's nemisis and a bit of time will put a shine on it.
Simichrome polish (find at a good hardware store) for large areas that show. it leaves a long lasting shield against tarnish. not good for bolts or small tedious parts
I heard this from a guy in the Navy and he may have been pulling my let but he said that they would soak brass in kool-aid with no sugar to clean brass on the ship he was on. I have never tried it but that is what I was told. Try it and let me know how it works. It sounds crazy to me but maybe it works.
I saw a show on TV yesterday where they scrubbed the tarnish off a copper pan with a half a lemon on a pile of table salt. Bronze is mostly copper. They also used lemon and baking soda on stuff to clean too. I know some people who clean the bluing off chrome headders with lemon juice.. wash it off befor fireing it up though!
preventative maintenance on brass in the Navy is soaking overnight in red bug juice. it has no flavor it's just red. LOL It really works on brass floor drains from the galley(kitchen for you land lubbers)
Don't know about soaking brass parts - just about anything I've ever tried on brass involves elbow grease. For cleaning polished brass, I've had good luck with this stuff: http://www.englishcustompolishing.com/usca/museum.html
Depends what kind of "dirty" it is. If it's just tarnished then almost any cleaner will work. (FWIW a solution of water with of 100g/l (approx 13.5oz/US Gal) of potassium cyanide and 50g/l (6.75oz/US Gal) of caustic soda will clean it instantly!!!DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME!!) If it's corroded then 20:1 water to sulphuric acid is good for cleaning all the deposits off. Won't happen instantly. Doesn't matter what cleaner you soak it in, it will not polish it. You will still need to buff the surface to get it shiny. All soak cleaners do is make it easier to buff after.
Pure lemon juice and salt does a great job. Using baking soda with any of the solutions will only neutralize the acid, which is the agent that cleans the brass.
Brasso and Nev-r-dull is what we used when I was in the Navy. Eagle polishes bought the Nevrdull name, you can find it at most auto parts stores. It's basically cotton wadding soaked in polish - you tear off a hunk, use it till it's all black and toss it.
Brass is an alloy of zinc and copper. Cleaning brass with acid burns away the zinc, leaving the surface a copper color. The same is true of paint stripper. The only way to fix that is to expose unaffected underlying metal by polishing and buffing away a layer of metal from the entire surface of the part. Ammonia removes brass corrosion. Commercial brass cleaners often contain ammonia. It won't remove paint or what remains of any old protective clear. For that, lacquer thinner works well on most coatings other than powder coat and catalyzed paints. You didn't say what the parts are, or what you want them to look like when they are done. Depending on the condition of the parts, after cleaning you may want to hand polish then with a metal cleaner/polish, or with a powered buff and compound.
There is a great product called Venol. Works especially well to maintain brass and keeps the shine for longer than any other produce I've tried. I am not at home so don't have any info. I know Restoration Supply Company in California sells this but I am sure it is available elsewhere. From memory, I think it might be made in Germany????
Ammonia should never be used on thin brass sheet parts. Remember the recalls on natural gas pipes made from brass? The ammonia leads to stress cracking.
Yes, the alloy is degraded by contact with ammonia. The degradation caused by a brief cleaning is real, but minuscule. The amount of metal removed by polishing and buffing takes away more strength than a little exposure to ammonia. On the other hand, continuous exposure to ammonia will eventually ruin the brass parts. Ammonia has the same effect on plain copper, and on bronze and other copper alloys. How resistant the metal is to attack depends a lot on the exact alloy. Right or wrong, professionals use ammonia to clean instrument and clock and instrument parts, with no apparent damage.
Do a google search for products used to clean brass bullet cartridges. I'm not sure how well they shine it up though...
If you are talking about brass floats do NOT use Brasso, or any other abrasive. The heat from rubbing the brass will cause the brass to become brittle and crack. Cracks are not desirable on brass floats. Jon.
As far as cleaning brass, I use to work on steam locomotives, which had many brass appertances. I've used them all, and for my money, the best polish/cleaners out there were Wenol metal polish and Mother's polish. Used these on many a locomotive bell and steam engine gauges, with much success.
Cola works soak overnight, Phosphoric acid weak solution soak overnight, vinegar,again soak overnight, Two slightly off the wall remedies are tomatp ketchup and HP Sauce (Brown sauce) the acidic vinegar and molasses in the HP sauce do a realy good job, smear leave for a couple of hours and rinse off with Fairy Liquid (Dish washing detergent) then polish.
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