copper/brass cleaning?
prufr...@hotmail.com
brass tub? I have recently acquired an old tub that I would like to restore,
and the first thing I need to do is clean off the 50 years of corrosion on
it. :-)
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Dave Bostock
: Does anyone out there have an effective method to clean a very old copper or
: brass tub? I have recently acquired an old tub that I would like to restore,
: and the first thing I need to do is clean off the 50 years of corrosion on
: it. :-)
A caution and some quesses, I've never cleaned a brass tub. Caution-many,
maybe most, copper cleaners contain ammonia, this can and has been
very bad for Firearm cartridge brass and brass clock parts. The problem is
refered to as Stess Corrosion Cracking (SCC) this may not be true for a
tub, I'd avoid them myself for this reason though. I have a can of
'anti-tarnish' COPPER-GLO by Bar Keepers Friend it's ingrediants are:
Citric acid, sodium chloride, polishing and anti-tarnish agents.
(Contains no phosphates). The COPPER-GLO package and contents look like
a can of Ajax Cleanser. If you have access to an air-compressor, work
space and a small sand blaster and associated safety equipment you
might try filling the sand blaster with crushed wallnut shells, which
is a material sold for use in such equipment. You would NOT want to use
sand, it would probably cause tremendous damage.
--
Dave Bostock dea...@dc.seflin.org Florida, USA
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
RWW
small, non-visible area first and see how you like it. Just smear it on,
wait a few minutes and wash it off. May take several applications. Nice
thing is that objects don't come out looking new and polished...just a
little less old and dingy.
-Bob in Michigan
prufr...@hotmail.com wrote in message <7me2rv$48a$1...@nnrp1.deja.com>...
>Does anyone out there have an effective method to clean a very old copper
or
>brass tub? I have recently acquired an old tub that I would like to
restore,
>and the first thing I need to do is clean off the 50 years of corrosion on
>it. :-)
>
>
13 Ghosts
> I've had pretty good luck with ketchup for cleaning brass and copper...try a
> small, non-visible area first and see how you like it. Just smear it on,
> wait a few minutes and wash it off. May take several applications. Nice
> thing is that objects don't come out looking new and polished...just a
> little less old and dingy.
> -Bob in Michigan
This doesn't have anything to do with the topic,
I suppose, but every time I hear about ketchup and copper
I think about the lady I bought the Roycroft bowl from.
It was a nice one too, a foot across, maybe, five inches
deep, three conical feet, hand hammered and a wonderful
old patina. So, there I am buying it but I haven't had
the chance to pay for it yet and she comes out of the
back room with a bottle of ketchup in her hand, hell bent
on showing me the remarkable cleaning powers of ketchup!
It was quite a task to tactfully say that I was not all
that interested in learning all about ketchup as a cleaner
and that I liked it the way it was and not to hurt her
feelings about it. A 79 cent bottle of ketchup can destroy
a couple of hundred dollars of what the fellow called
"collectibility" and in just a few minutes almost a
hundred years of patina can disappear like a side order
of fries at Burger King right after Weight Watchers
lets out.
13 Ghosts
--
Posted via Talkway - http://www.talkway.com
Exchange ideas on practically anything (tm).
RWW
trust evaluate the piece to see if it should be cleaned at all. [We don't
know how good the piece is, or how bad the ''50 years of corrosion'' is!]
I also enjoy the look of old copper and brass, and usually leave things as
they are. However, Prufrock indicated a desire to clean it up, and I was
merely suggesting a less aggressive method. It's usually better to start
with the least you can do, and work up. Ketchup and water are fairly mild.
Previous to my ketchup suggestion someone had mentioned other cleaning
methods which [I thought] were more aggressive than ketchup. ''Copper-Glo'',
with it's ingredients of ''Citric acid, sodium chloride, polishing and
anti-tarnish agents'' is a little cryptic...citric acid and sodium chloride
are probably what makes the ketchup work, but the ''polishing and
anti-tarnish agents'' are unknowns, and sound like a step beyond ketchup.
Certainly ''filling the sand blaster with crushed walnut shells'' would
remove patina too, but would be harder to control and direct to a small
non-visible area.
Ketchup is slower and easier to control than some other methods. If, after
investigation, you are determined to clean it up, as I said, try the ketchup
on a small non-visible area first and see how you like it. Leave it on for a
short time and rinse it off thoroughly. It may take several applications to
achieve your desired results.
I hope I have offended no one.
Best Wishes,
-Bob in Michigan
=============================================================
>On 15 Jul 1999 01:41:48 GMT "RWW" <greenl...@novagate.com> wrote:
>> I've had pretty good luck with ketchup for cleaning brass and
copper...try a
>> small, non-visible area first and see how you like it.
>>[snip]
>>Nice thing is that objects don't come out looking new and polished...just
a
>> little less old and dingy.
>> -Bob in Michigan
>===================================================
13 Ghosts <13Gh...@hotbot.com> wrote in message ...
>[snip]
>A 79 cent bottle of ketchup can destroy
>a couple of hundred dollars of what the fellow called
>"collectibility" and in just a few minutes almost a
>hundred years of patina can disappear like a side order
>of fries at Burger King right after Weight Watchers
>lets out.
>
>13 Ghosts
=======================================================
13 Ghosts
Lord, no, you haven't offended anyone.
This discussion about cleaning/polishing
metals is one that really never seems
to stop. I just wanted to tell my
ketchup story. But it was not near as good as
"filling the sand blaster with crushed walnut shells".
I nearly fell over laughing.
Gillam Kerley
> Lord, no, you haven't offended anyone.
On behalf of the Mustard Museum of Mount Horeb, Wisconsin (yes, there is
such a thing), and its educational affiliate, Poupon U, let it be noted
that any mention of ketchup is indeed offensive. Though, I must add,
less offensive in this context than if someone actually suggested using
it on -- gasp! -- food.
GK
Michele Mauro
and cold meatloaf sandwiches!
Have fun, Michele
--
Change NOSPAM to 'chaos' to reply via email.
Gillam Kerley <gke...@execpc.com> wrote in message
news:7mlbkb$b...@newsops.execpc.com...
Dave Bostock
13 Ghosts (13Gh...@hotbot.com) wrote:
: "filling the sand blaster with crushed walnut shells".
: I nearly fell over laughing.
Both the Copper Glo and the wallnut shells were suggested for cleaning a
CORRODED TUB, this was obvious, dork. Both will indeed leave a bright
shiny surface, which is not a good idea for most antique items.
13 Ghosts
>
> 13 Ghosts (13Gh...@hotbot.com) wrote:
> : "filling the sand blaster with crushed walnut shells".
> : I nearly fell over laughing.
>
> Both the Copper Glo and the wallnut shells were suggested for cleaning a
> CORRODED TUB, this was obvious, dork. Both will indeed leave a bright
> shiny surface, which is not a good idea for most antique items.
>
> --
> Dave Bostock dea...@dc.seflin.org Florida,
Dave, you dork, get yourself a sense
of humor. It's fun. Try it.
Ronnie McKinley
>Dave, you dork, get yourself a sense
>of humor. It's fun. Try it.
>
I come-on, T, he has me rolling around in stitches, and every one a
winner. ;>
Ronnie
=====
Dave Bostock
I have a sense of humor, why don't you try being funny.
13 Ghosts (13Gh...@hotbot.com) wrote:
: On 16 Jul 1999 22:33:12 GMT dea...@dc.seflin.org (Dave Bostock) wrote:
: >
: > 13 Ghosts (13Gh...@hotbot.com) wrote:
: > : "filling the sand blaster with crushed walnut shells".
: > : I nearly fell over laughing.
: >
: > Both the Copper Glo and the wallnut shells were suggested for cleaning a
: > CORRODED TUB, this was obvious, dork. Both will indeed leave a bright
: > shiny surface, which is not a good idea for most antique items.
: >
: > --
: > Dave Bostock dea...@dc.seflin.org Florida,
: ==
: Dave, you dork, get yourself a sense
: of humor. It's fun. Try it.
: 13 Ghosts
: --
: Posted via Talkway - http://www.talkway.com
: Exchange ideas on practically anything (tm).
--
Dave Bostock dea...@dc.seflin.org Florida, USA
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dave Bostock
Ronnie McKinley (mcki...@netcomuk.co.uk) wrote:
: I come-on, T, he has me rolling around in stitches, and every one a
: winner. ;>
Have them redone because it appears your brains are leaking out.
If Jon did them, scream malpractice.
Kat
I have heard that rubbing half a lemon on copper helps
to clean it.
Regards,
Kat
Dave Bostock wrote:
>
> prufr...@hotmail.com wrote:
> : Does anyone out there have an effective method to clean a very old copper or
> : brass tub? I have recently acquired an old tub that I would like to restore,
> : and the first thing I need to do is clean off the 50 years of corrosion on
> : it. :-)
>
> A caution and some quesses, I've never cleaned a brass tub. Caution-many,
> maybe most, copper cleaners contain ammonia, this can and has been
> very bad for Firearm cartridge brass and brass clock parts. The problem is
> refered to as Stess Corrosion Cracking (SCC) this may not be true for a
> tub, I'd avoid them myself for this reason though. I have a can of
> 'anti-tarnish' COPPER-GLO by Bar Keepers Friend it's ingrediants are:
> Citric acid, sodium chloride, polishing and anti-tarnish agents.
> (Contains no phosphates). The COPPER-GLO package and contents look like
> a can of Ajax Cleanser. If you have access to an air-compressor, work
> space and a small sand blaster and associated safety equipment you
> might try filling the sand blaster with crushed wallnut shells, which
> is a material sold for use in such equipment. You would NOT want to use
> sand, it would probably cause tremendous damage.
>
John-Henry Collinson and Kristine Reeves
<xy...@stacken.kth.se> writes
>Dave,
>
>I have heard that rubbing half a lemon on copper helps
>to clean it.
>
> Regards,
>
> Kat
route
--
John-Henry Collinson and Kristine Reeves Please do not send us emails as we
never read them. Join the campaign to stop Unsolicited Non-commercial Emails
NOW. Come and see us instead; we are down the pub.
Robertbook
first.... then vinegar pats and rinse.. good luck!!
John-Henry Collinson and Kristine Reeves
<rober...@aol.com> writes
>try vinegar and salt.. make loose paste and apply... use 409 to remove grease
>first.... then vinegar pats and rinse.. good luck!!
are using salt you may as well go the whole hog and use 0000 grade wire
wool with a paste. As we have mentioned ad nauseum you have a choice of
cleaning metal in one of two ways. You can polish the surface keeping
the dirt on but also keeping the patina. (this is why old brass and
copper looks dark; you are seeing the metal through a layer of 'polished
tarnish and crap') or you can scrub the dirt, tarnish etc. off the metal
completely using an abrasive such as wire wool, salt, emery paper or cat
litter (fuller's earth). This latter method leaves you with a totally
clean object that could have been made yesterday, The former method
takes a long time and a lot of physical effort; it is also the preferred
method of museums, conservators etc.
By the way, while we are on the subject of cleaning metal, we presume
everyone at some time or other has left old pennies in Coca Cola
overnight? Mad isn't it? That's why we are bringing Tim (now two and a
half) up on Jameson's; it is better for him.
PS (off topic) Despite our signature anyone wanting a Susie Cooper ICQ
plus or WinAmp skin just mail to: fre...@jhenry.demon.co.uk
Unless of course you use bloody awful Outlook Express or Outlook as your
mailer when we ask you to mail to :John-Henry Collinson <johnhenry_lawre
nce_co...@hotmail.com>
PPS (off topic) In one month's time we are moving to Salford so Kris can
do her MSc.
Tina Sutherland
Tina
John-Henry Collinson and Kristine Reeves
<char...@uswest.net> writes
>O.K. I give up....what's a Susie Cooper ICQ, an WinAmp and/or a MSc?
> Tina
the Computer. Both are capable of having decorative 'skins'. We could
not leave the house because we both had a bad dose of the 'flu; hence us
offering the skins.
MSc stands for Master of Science and you could call it a secondary
degree for shortness sake.
Two other definitions that may be helpful
Salford is like Pittsburgh but without the glamour.
Jameson's is necessary.
charlies
The rest should come clear if I just use enough Jamesons. Right?
Tina ;-)
Bill Burns
>Salford is like Pittsburgh but without the glamour.
J-H: I think you're being unkind to both Salford and Pittsburgh!
Pittsburgh is rated very highly in recent surveys; the decline of the
steel industry led to an increase in cultural and recreational
activities, and it's apparently a desirable place to live.
Having been born next to Salford, in Eccles (home of the famous cakes
and mentioned in the Domesday Book), I agree it lacks a certain glamour,
but does have a couple of good museums, including a recreation of a
Victorian street of shops with period contents, and a new home for the
industrial folk paintings of Salford native L.S. Lowry:
http://www.salford.gov.uk/LOWRY.HTM
The waterfront reclamation project has produced an interesting area
around the canals; close by is the Museum of Science and Industry in
Manchester, housing a world-class collection of working steam engines,
and many other artifacts of the industrial revolution, born in
Manchester.
--
Bill Burns
Long Island NY USA
mailto:bi...@ftldesign.com
John-Henry Collinson and Kristine Reeves
<bi...@ftldesign.com> writes
>In article <qW0qCBAZ...@jhenry.demon.co.uk>, John-Henry Collinson and
>Kristine Reeves <h&k...@jhenry.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>
>>Salford is like Pittsburgh but without the glamour.
>
>J-H: I think you're being unkind to both Salford and Pittsburgh!
We cannot answer for Pittsburgh but we ARE being unfair to Salford -
otherwise we would not be moving there. We must agree to differ with you
about L S Lowry though; we are not fans.
--