Hey mate, I like your videos. Thanks for producing and uploading. I use an IBC as my electrolysis tank. I use it at my farm and sometimes put engines or machinery parts in it with a chain hoist. But mostly it is smaller tools I find about the place. Mostly on the farm as it is heavily used and things turn up all the time.
That worked out very well. I’ve used electrolysis on steel but haven’t tried it on brass or bronze copper etc. Do you mix the same for this as you would steel?
I was doing some searching on this exact subject on Google and UA-cam. In one video, they demonstrated a commercial product which involved dipping copper products in a blue transparent solution, after they first rinsed the copper, after the blue solution, it came out a bit brown. They rinsed it again and then, they dipped the brass in a 10% sulfuric acid solution for just a few seconds. It removed the brownish shine instantly. After that, they rinsed it again and it was beautiful clean and shiny. I was thinking, would the sulfuric acid treatment also work that well on the product after electrolysis, to clean off the dark staining? Just trying to think of an easy and thoroughly way of cleaning old brass and copper ornaments, knobs and such thing. Thanks for the video.
Thanks mate, you just answered my question, if I may add, a mate of mine wants to restore an old centrifugal pump but I was reluctant with the brass bush on the shaft. so cast iron and brass together are fine Y/N ?
Nope Geffrey, and you shouldn't use stainless steel either. The anode is sacrificial and using stainless will leave chromium compounds in solution which is not healthy. Best just to use basic iron and when it eats away too much, replace it with another piece.
@@TheUltimateRecycler hello and thanks for the tip. I got tired sanding and scraping my iron, not thinking at a chemical level at all. I have a constant supply of iron, so back to the mower blades.
Don't waste your ketchup on cleaning brass it doesn't work I have tried to clean the brass on buck stove nothing happened so save your ketchup for your French fries
It'll turn more to brass if you put like a torch to it to get the metal heated back up, we used to coat copper pennies with zinc and then put it under a torch to make it brass
well first thought- you changed the metal, not cleaned it, you also covered teh tap with FeO which is black, , you made zinc leave into solution as ZnO, now the tap will turn green over time, not like brass, yes it looks clean but actually ruined the tap, might avoid doing this to a museum piece - keepsake... esp the time in the bath????... we should ask a museum curator
I disagree with most of what you have written Steven, but I do appreciate you watching and commenting! 👍 A couple of things - the tap won't turn green (verdigris) any more readily than any other copper alloy. I've been cleaning brass like this for years and have never had any turn green! It's possible that the electrolysis has pulled zinc from the surface and caused a minor colour change - but the chemical process would be complicated and certainly zinc oxide would not be in solution as it's insoluble in water. The tap has most definitely not been ruined in my opinion - quite the opposite! A museum piece is a totally different kettle of fish - anything that important simply should not be cleaned at all by an amateur! Cheers! 😊
Hey mate, I like your videos. Thanks for producing and uploading. I use an IBC as my electrolysis tank. I use it at my farm and sometimes put engines or machinery parts in it with a chain hoist. But mostly it is smaller tools I find about the place. Mostly on the farm as it is heavily used and things turn up all the time.
Cool, thanks Rhys! Wow, that's a serious electrolysis tank!
The answer is that most well made spigots, they use red brass which I believe is 95% copper. Most likely when it was new it looked that red.
That's certainly possible. Red brass is called gunmetal here. Thanks for watching 😊
I think it should work as long as you have a matching material sacrificial bar
I just use a piece of normal iron with no problems 😊
Thanks for watching!
That worked out very well. I’ve used electrolysis on steel but haven’t tried it on brass or bronze copper etc. Do you mix the same for this as you would steel?
Yep, same solution 👍
Interesting!
That’s awesome 👊🏻great video chris
Thanks mate! 😁
My first curiosity lead to a very blue green piece of brass
I was doing some searching on this exact subject on Google and UA-cam. In one video, they demonstrated a commercial product which involved dipping copper products in a blue transparent solution, after they first rinsed the copper, after the blue solution, it came out a bit brown. They rinsed it again and then, they dipped the brass in a 10% sulfuric acid solution for just a few seconds.
It removed the brownish shine instantly.
After that, they rinsed it again and it was beautiful clean and shiny. I was thinking, would the sulfuric acid treatment also work that well on the product after electrolysis, to clean off the dark staining?
Just trying to think of an easy and thoroughly way of cleaning old brass and copper ornaments, knobs and such thing.
Thanks for the video.
I have a cast iron pot that I'd like to do this with but it has a tin lid and the pot itself is tin lined Inside. Could I still do this?
Yep, should be fine James 👍
I have some other videos on different metals..
Thanks mate, you just answered my question, if I may add, a mate of mine wants to restore an old centrifugal pump but I was reluctant with the brass bush on the shaft.
so cast iron and brass together are fine Y/N ?
I would think it would be ok Maurice 👍
Do I need a brass annode or will my stainless annode be fine?
Nope Geffrey, and you shouldn't use stainless steel either. The anode is sacrificial and using stainless will leave chromium compounds in solution which is not healthy. Best just to use basic iron and when it eats away too much, replace it with another piece.
@@TheUltimateRecycler hello and thanks for the tip. I got tired sanding and scraping my iron, not thinking at a chemical level at all. I have a constant supply of iron, so back to the mower blades.
Don't waste your ketchup on cleaning brass it doesn't work I have tried to clean the brass on buck stove nothing happened so save your ketchup for your French fries
Totally agree Steve! 👍
It'll turn more to brass if you put like a torch to it to get the metal heated back up, we used to coat copper pennies with zinc and then put it under a torch to make it brass
So, if zinc is added to the solution first, could you reduce zinc leaching?
Good question and I don't have an answer! Personally, I like the coppery look rather than bright yellow brass.
Does anybody out there know how to clean or polish brass
Did you watch the video?
well first thought- you changed the metal, not cleaned it, you also covered teh tap with FeO which is black, , you made zinc leave into solution as ZnO, now the tap will turn green over time, not like brass, yes it looks clean but actually ruined the tap, might avoid doing this to a museum piece - keepsake... esp the time in the bath????... we should ask a museum curator
I disagree with most of what you have written Steven, but I do appreciate you watching and commenting! 👍
A couple of things - the tap won't turn green (verdigris) any more readily than any other copper alloy. I've been cleaning brass like this for years and have never had any turn green!
It's possible that the electrolysis has pulled zinc from the surface and caused a minor colour change - but the chemical process would be complicated and certainly zinc oxide would not be in solution as it's insoluble in water.
The tap has most definitely not been ruined in my opinion - quite the opposite!
A museum piece is a totally different kettle of fish - anything that important simply should not be cleaned at all by an amateur!
Cheers! 😊