Brass

[wanglow]

Don't know if this is the correct forum but I wanted to hear from some of you experts about what is a good way to remove crusted verdigris on brass and what is a good polish. After it is polished what is the best way to keep it clean; Clear laquer, linseed oil?

ron

[Andrew Mackey]

There is no substitute for elbow grease! First: You could dip in muriatic acid, until most of the verdigris has been removed, Then wash thoroughly in a solution containing baking soda. Then a water rinse, and then s soap and copious amounts of water wash down, and then plain water flush and rinse. Then you would have to towel dry thoroughly.
Next you would have to polish with a good brass cleaner like Twinkle, or Brasso, until you are down to the base Brass or Bronze material. Then you would have to polish to a shine, and go over it again, just to make sure all the acid has been neutralized, and all the surfaces have been polished clean.
As for protecting the finish, again there is no replacement for elbow grease! Any material you put on the surface will either fade or flake off in time, and leave you with a real mess to try and clean at a future date. Best bet is to polish and buff well, and keep it up at least once every two months, wether it looks like it needs it or not. A little touch up now saves a lot of effort later.

If you cannot acid dip, or there are other metals in contact (is it plated, riveted to steel or other metals, you cannot dip, sorry), the only way to strip is to use a good copper cleaner, as I mentioned above. and a LOT of elbow grease!
Andrew

[Joel Sanderson]

Ron, here is a link to a newish clear laquer that is UV resistant and made for metals:

http://www.permalac.com/

I use use this a lot on exterior peices, and it holds up reasonably well. Personally, I do not like laquers (messy, stinky, have to spray them unless it's too hot, then you have to wipe them...) but for a durable clear on something to be exposed to a lot of moisture, this is about all there is.

For dry interior, you can use Formby's tung oil (really a varnish mixture), but it tends to change the colour of copper alloys a bit. I think tung oil is much better than linseed oil: it dries faster and makes a harder, more durable finish.

Here is a table I made of iron and copper and finished with tung oil. Sorry the picture is so small, but hopefully you can see the way the finish looks on the two metals. All my tables are finished with tung oil, and if you click on the table button, you will find tables with better close-up shots (but not much copper and no brass).

http://sandersoniron.com/JoelWeb%20P...subaqueous.htm

Joel