POLISHING NICKEL PLATED BRASS

[rfkimba]

GUYS,

IS THERE A PREFERRED PRODUCT FOR REMOVING TARNISH FROM NICKEL PLATED BRASS?

THANKS,
BOB FARBER

[wds]

I use goof off with very fine steel wool to remove the green corrosion that builds up on the nickel  Then follow it up with polishing compound to give it a nice shine.

[LarryInMichigan]

I have had some success with MAAS metal polish.  I bought a tube at an Ace hardware store.

Larry

[dencins]

Simichrome works well for me.

Dennis Hallworth

[Matilo Telephones]

I use steelwool only lightly, as it tends to make scratches I cannot polish out.

But first I put the part in a mixture of water, washing up liquid and some lemon juice. The acidity removes corrosion and often it is enough to remove the corrosion granules that give it that grainy look and feel. Leave for 20 min or so, brush, then use a polish.

I use chrome polish for cleaning cars. I think it is made by Valma, but there are other brands. Polish with a dremel with felt polishing wheel.

[Russ Kirk]

I saw on American Restoration recently Rick said to use aluminum foil dipped in water to remove rust from chrome.  The results he showed was quite impressive.  I wonder if the same will work on nickel plated items.

[Matilo Telephones]

Interesting. Did you see how he did that? What is the function of the water?

[Russ Kirk]

He showed it in one of the How-to segments around a commercial break. He showed before and after photos.

The chrome piece was quite ugly to start and after it shined; where the rust was it was gone and overall the piece looked much better, not new, but better.   

I don't know what function the water did other than lubrication.

[Matilo Telephones]

Yes, well it might be that the water acts as a conduit for an electrolitic reaction with the aluminum.

There is a technique for cleaning silver shine. by putting it in salt water with a wad of aluminum foil. The reaction reverts oxidised silver back to pure silver again.

The problem is it also reacts with impurities in the silver, thus making it brittle. It is not recommended.

I wondered if this procedure also reacts with the brass. You´ll get pits and craters where there are scratches in the nickel layer.

[Sargeguy]

I used good ole Novus #2 with Mirka Mirlon 2500 steel wool.  It is less scratchy than regular steel wool.

[flhusa1]

try using 3 in 1 oil with a brass detailing brush. keep surface oiled and you like the results.

[old_stuff_hound]

Simichrome works well for me.

Dennis Hallworth

+1!

[Russ62]

Hi,  To remove heavy green crusty corrosion from nickel I first use solid copper scrub pads such as Choreboy pads ( check with magnet to make sure their not copper plated steel as that kind will scratch) then I polish with Blue Magic metal polish from the auto parts store.  On milder cases I first use Ajax or similar type sink cleaner (which also works very well to clean brown scum from receivers or mouth pieces) or just the Blue Magic. These methods I find are less prone to fine scratching than steel wool, although I use 0000 steel wool with 409 or similar to clean chrome which is a harder metal with great results.             Russell

[Scotophor]

Any fans of Mythbusters here? In an early episode on "Carbonated Soft Drink" Myths (to avoid using brand names), they found that the popular brand they tested worked extremely well for removing rust from chrome vehicle bumpers.

If the problem were rust (rather than mere tarnish or dullness), I would probably try adapting the Mythbusters and American Restoration methods, using a tightly crumpled wad of aluminum foil with Coca-Cola (oops! <wink>) to scrub the rust off. I would follow that up with a fresh water rinse to both the item and the aluminum (or use a fresh wad of aluminum), another scrub using a little water and a lot of baking soda to neutralize any remaining acid residue from the soda pop, and a final fresh water rinse, followed quickly by a thorough drying.

But since you only mentioned tarnish, I would just use any commercial metal polish. Be aware however, that if the item were made of steel instead of brass, what seems to be tarnish may in fact simply be the steel underneath, if the nickel has completely worn away in some areas. In that case, polishing will never bring back the original brilliance. Re-plating would then be the only solution.

[Matilo Telephones]

I´ve heared and read about the coca cola method and tried it on some metal parts myself.

But the reason cola makes metal parts more shiny is the acidity. There is no other magic ingrediënt. Coco cola has more co2 in it than most soft drinks, which makes it more acid.

But with that acidity you also get Sugar which makes everything sticky. There are other Household products which would have the same effect, like lemon juice and vinegar.

Another disadvantage of cola is you cannot see what is going on, if you immerse something in it.