A question about brass

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Marty Bufalini
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A question about brass

Post by Marty Bufalini » Fri Jul 31, 2020 6:14 pm

Normally, I polish my brass about two or three times a year. But because there are no shows or tours this year, I have not polished it at all. Will it be harder to polish next year if I don’t polish it at all this year or should I polish it at least once this year it’s a 1914. And it’s garaged. Thanking you in advance.


Rich Bingham
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Re: A question about brass

Post by Rich Bingham » Fri Jul 31, 2020 7:29 pm

As usual, the cautious reply would begin, “ . . . It depends . . .” I’m a slob. All summer I use my Lizzie (‘13 runabout) as a farm vehicle, hauling feed, changing the irrigation, chasing water, etc., through deep mud (sometimes) in all weather. Come late fall, she’s in for an annual cleaning, R&R, tuneup and whatever repairs are necessary. This includes polishing the brass, which takes a while, but I consider it good winter therapy. She won’t look a lot worse come November, this is the state of tarnish now. Once I let it go two seasons, the process wasn’t noticeably any harder. I use “Blue Magic”, it works very well IMHO.

I’ve worked on items so tarnished they looked like patinated statuary, and years of deep tarnish is very difficult to bring back.
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Last edited by Rich Bingham on Sat Aug 01, 2020 3:35 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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R.V.Anderson
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Re: A question about brass

Post by R.V.Anderson » Fri Jul 31, 2020 8:29 pm

I have found that on my '14, yes it is harder to polish if it's neglected, say, in winter storage from fall until spring. Water spots are the worst. I learned the hard way that if I don't get them off immediately and they dry on the brass, I have to take the headlamps apart and really bear down on the rims and bonnet. But one compensation is that removing the headlamps allows better access to the radiator side panels so you can bear down on those.


SurfCityGene
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Re: A question about brass

Post by SurfCityGene » Fri Jul 31, 2020 10:59 pm

Rich, I've done the same thing here and living close to the ocean with the evening air the brass can tarnish a lot before you get close to the next tour. That's even with covers.

One product I have found the is by far the easiest to use to remove the heavy tarnish is Brite Boy Metal polish! I get it at the janitorial supply or online. It comes from Garland Tx. By Carroll Olde Tyme Products. I didn't see where your located by I'll send you a sample to try if you'd like. It removes the tarnish pretty easily while wet but it doesn't give that deep gloss we like on the brass. I've found it's super easy to follow up with a final polish like Mothers Billet or Blue Magic or Prism. Take your choice. I get a gallon of the Brite boy for $35. and it lasts for more than a year maybe two. I just looked at my bottle and I got it in November 2016!!
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Steve Jelf
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Re: A question about brass

Post by Steve Jelf » Sat Aug 01, 2020 12:40 am

If you Google Brite Boy you'll find several sources. Prices vary, so shop around.
The inevitable often happens.
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Loftfield
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Re: A question about brass

Post by Loftfield » Sat Aug 01, 2020 7:40 am

Of course brass will tarnish over time, and the more it tarnishes the more oxidised crud you have to remove when you do want a sparkle and shine. On the other hand, every time you polish you remove some brass, so at some point the metal can get thin, don't know how many lifetimes it takes to actually do that. How often to polish depends on how anal-retentive you are about your car, and about history. Looking at a lot of pix taken at the time, one can see a lot of really dull brass, as in how much time did any farmer have to keep the brass polished? If you are in the showroom-look group then a lot of polishing is in your future. If you are in the "I want to be authentic to the day" group then not so much. Another factor is the polish that you will choose to use. For every brass car owner out there, there is a favourite polish. I maintain four brass cars, like to keep the brass "clean" but not necessary sparkle bright, so give the brass a light touch-up whenever things begin to get really dull, a serious polishing before any show or organised tour. My preference for polishing is Prism, available from Langs. It is really a marine metal polish which means that there is something in the formula that tends to protect the brass from oxidising after the polishing, and it can be bought in gallon containers from marine supply houses at a price far cheaper than Langs, sorry Langs. Advice given in a previous post on this thread about cleaning water spots (especially antifreeze spots) is spot-on. Get them off PDQ or they can actually begin to etch the brass.

There are cloth coverings available for the brass parts that also contain anti-tarnish additives. These covers can be used all the time, but are especially useful for over-winter storage, won't keep the shine and sparkle, but will greatly retard oxidation so cleaning and polishing will be easier next time around.

Finally, some like to have the brass coated. This process is expensive and will give your brass that "just polished" look for many years. However, as is always the case, the coating will degrade over time resulting in something less than that showroom look, and you can't then polish the brass because the coating is in the way.

But, as we all know, brass is beautiful, and the more polished you keep it the more beautiful it is!

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Jem
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Re: A question about brass

Post by Jem » Sat Aug 01, 2020 9:07 am

A fellow near me with a 09 Stanley told me he had his brass gold-plated so I never needed attention 'It was surprisingly inexpensive!'. But he owned half the county, so his idea of inexpensive may vary from ours.

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TWrenn
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Re: A question about brass

Post by TWrenn » Sat Aug 01, 2020 10:05 am

Like oil and timers...opinions will naturally vary. The short of it is, yes it will get harder to polish. It's nature trying to change the brass.
It helps to keep the brass covered, not a cure-all, but it does help slow down the oxidation a bit. I polish mine monthly, but then I'm a brass snob. I like it shiney. Period. I polish it before winter layup, keep it covered, in the spring it's not too hard to "bring back".
And like Rich said, Blue Magic is about as good a product there is. Again, opinions will vary. I've tried 3 or 4 others, and went back to the Blue!

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ABoer
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Re: A question about brass

Post by ABoer » Sat Aug 01, 2020 3:27 pm

Two years ago a Model T-Friend told me he know something to spray on brass to coated that .
I used that, and till now I am very happy with that .
It is ; From HG [ a Dutch Company ] The name is : Silver & Brass never polish again .
If you like you can take it off with Aceton .We have it for two years now and we had a lot of rain, but it is still nice .

Greetings from Holland
TAKE CARE
Toon
IMG_1237.JPG

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ABoer
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Re: A question about brass

Post by ABoer » Sat Aug 01, 2020 3:47 pm

Two more pictures .
IMG_1238.JPG
IMG_1238.JPG
Toon
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TWrenn
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Re: A question about brass

Post by TWrenn » Sat Aug 01, 2020 7:41 pm

Looks good Toon. I am surprised it holds up so well on the hot radiator though.
And Russ Herner told me to tell you a "hearty hello", and greetings to "Wim"...think
I got it right?


Les Schubert
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Re: A question about brass

Post by Les Schubert » Sat Aug 01, 2020 8:59 pm

Further to Jem’s Posting, I had the levers on my ‘13 gold plated on my platers advice. VERY little extra and NEVER need to polish them. I will certainly consider doing it again as I’m not really good at polishing brass. Fortunately I live in a dry climate and the brass survives pretty good.
On a side note, the head lights I have that are essentially unrestored have the remains of nickel plating on them. They are Canadian.


Joe Bell
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Re: A question about brass

Post by Joe Bell » Sat Aug 01, 2020 11:24 pm

Ole Doc had all the lights and hand brake Gold plated on 962 just so he did not have to polish any more.

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