Quick Brass Polishing Trick!
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- Опубліковано 7 лип 2015
- Let me show you a really cool trick to save a bunch of time when you're polishing up old, tarnished brass. It works great on old, grungy, furniture handles, etc. Just be careful not to go too crazy using it!
If you liked this idea, be sure to thumbs up the video, and share it with anyone else you know that would want to know about it!
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- Kevin - Навчання та стиль
Try Scotchbrite & Brasso together. It will clean the brass almost instantly and will not leave scratches or take off too much material. Then polish with a clean cloth. Done!
I always find your videos educating! I’m glad I found you! But I wanted to tell you that I just bought an antique sideboard with gorgeous intricate brass hardware. I used a polishing kit for my Dremel and the results were instantaneous! So gorgeous! I got my Dremel for Christmas many years ago and my husband bought a ton of accessories for it. I never used the polishing kit and almost forgot about it lol! I have a ganglion cyst that is basically strangling my radial artery and nerve. When ever I try to do anything for extended periods of time, my hand goes completely numb. So I’m glad I remembered my good old Dremel!!
Absolutely amazing!I spent so much time watching nonsense about cleaning brass with ketchup,salt baking soda,lemon,vinegar,...It is all about cleaning brass that hasn;t been cleaned for a little while.I cleaned the brass ornaments of a piece of furniture left uncleaned for 50 years in a VERY short time with your tip.Thank you,thank you!!
I would never have thought to use a sanding block, works very fast! Thank you.
Love this video, I have some pieces I believe may have never been cleaned ! Thanks!!!
After what was done in this video, continue with finer, wet sanding then dialux compounds and a final soft buffing up to a smooth, high mirror shine. Always use separate polishing pads for compounds/polishes to avoid cross contamination and scratching the work with previous abrasives, washing the work between compounds.
You can thank me later.
Super fantastic. Living aboard I don't timely attend to the brass hardware, ornaments, etc. It can be a total pain to polish. I have plans to visit Home Depot and pick up a few sanding sponges. Hope they have different grits for different jobs to sand. Although, looking around you have given me many projects that have sat on the back burner. . lol Many thanks. S
Thank you so much.I have an old brass bed and it has been needing this.
check the cleaning brass bed vids on yt
You'd have much better results by not using the sanding block, but instead you should use a light gray scotch-brite pad. I takes much more time, elbow grease, and money in materials to go from 320 grit (not sure what your pad is but thats typically "fine") straight to 6,000 grit (brasso) in order to achieve a good scratch free finish. Scotch brite pads work great wet or dry, are cheaper than those sanding sponges and come in many grades of roughness to remove the previous grit's scratch marks. Light gray is about 800 grit, white is 1200-1500 grit, and maroon is roughly 320 grit. They also leave a much more desirable scratch pattern which is easier to remove with a finer pad.
Even faster would be to clean the brass using a scotch brite pad using dipped in a salt and vinegar solution. You can even soak it in the salt/vinegar but just not for too long because it can turn the brass pink.
And if you want to then antique the brass, put it in s sealed container on a rack or hanging after dipping them in salt water, and in the bottom of the container put a cup full of ammonia. Seal, and come back in a few hours. you'll be amazed. LIghtly buff for a beautiful finish.
I liked the black paint!. It gave a cool look to the handles. Cleaning would have been enough!
we have been restoring midcentury furniture professionally for years. NEVER clean brass like that! it's all scratched now.
BLISS modern antiques GmbH ab
That's what polishing is for
It should be soaked!
Just soak it in any carbonated drink over night.. Coke will do it... (, don't drink the coke! The term for dirty brass / copper is.. Tarnished.
All these comments are jokes. This is the only technique that has worked out of all of these useless videos. Vinegar, lemon juice, blah blah blah. If you guys know so damn much, post a useful video or advice. Because, I just cleaned two brass beer taps that were black from sitting 10 years and this is the only technique that worked!
Wow! thanks for sharing. nice job!
I hit subscribe before you even got to the opening cartoon. Instant recognition of a genuine honest guy. Looking forward to catching other videos of yours. I'll be trying this brass advice today
So how did it turn out......lol...I am curious.
Amazing! This saved me so much time
Wetting the sanding sponge and using it with dish soap will help reduce scratching and remove oxidation with less effort
$30 bench top grinder with a buffing wheel and green rouge, cleans all metals to brilliant shine , and won't scratch like a sanding block
i used to do exactly what you said till an old german refinishing guy at dads' shop told me to stop that
Very helpful, no smearing. Thanks.
I have a 12-year-old brass ceiling fan that turned almost black. I applied brasso with an old tooth brush and rubbed vigorously in circles, working at a small area, intermittently buffing with a clean cloth. I needed to wash the brush intermittently as well because the bristles turn black due to oxidization. The process takes quite some time - took almost 5 hours. The fan now looks just like new.
I used to use Brasso on (a) a 22" Zildjian thick ride (b) a 20" Zildjian medium ride (c) an 18" Zildjian medium ride (d) two Zildjian 16" thin ride, and (e) two Zildjian 14" high hat cymbals. Over the course of several years I was able to have mirror finish cymbals with my drum set. I used a LOT of different polishes, etc but NOTHING ever beat Brasso and a soft cloth then a buffing attachment on a drill...no scratches.
This changed my life! Just bought a campaign dresser to restore and I am so happy to have this tip! Thank you!
I just wanted to tell you thank you for this video you just saved me hours of hard work thanks again! :)
Awesome! Glad to help!
White wine vinegar and salt is extremely effective in restoring shine. Simply soak the brass in a dish with a mixture of both ingredients. Take brass out and wash in hot soapy water with sponge.
Thank you, so worth the 7 minutes!
Dremel with a brass wire wheel and polishing wheel/polishing compound
Those leg caps would buff super easy on a lathe or drill press. It is super fast and can give you a mirror shine.
ok, so what do you use besides the drill or lathe to buff?
well I liked it, thanks Mr DiyDork
Worked like a treat thanks dude !
Looks good. I wonder if you can put it on a drill ?
Have you considered a fine grit scotch brite impregnated with the brass out? It will most likely give you the same speed but leave no micro scratches and polish at the same time
Stropping with cloth backed fine sandpaper will clean up very quickly. Super fast brass cleaning round parts with a screw hole is to put a piece of threaded rod in the screw hole and mount it in a drill.
This is also a great trick to polish wedding rings. I was using a bastard file before, but this removes less metal. Makes the ring last almost until the divorce.
Thats Rich Funny Lol
That's funny but kinda depressing too😂😔
Just get the divorce.
I don't have a bastard file; would a legitimate file work?
Omg!!! You are a GENIUS!!! Literally just made my life 😎
Brilliant. I have a ton of brass to clean and my hands were hurting and had brasso everywhere
Brasso is nice for mild cleaning or polishing as a final step, but this really helps tear through the grime pretty quickly. Just gotta be careful on pieces that aren't solid brass.
I will say that for clean the slides on brass instruments where the diameter matters easily to the .01 mm brasso tends to take off a lot of material in my experience
Another great tip! I would have never thought of sanding blocks... would have been too chicken!
Elizabeth Logsdon I kinda figured this out by ignorance. One of the first dressers I flipped had brass handles that were in about the same shape as these. I used sandpaper on them and they actually turned out great. Then I saw a few people on Instagram talking about the sponges, and I've been using it ever since. It's quick, simple, and works great. You just have to be a little careful and not go too crazy on it, because some hardware isn't solid and is just brass plated.
@@MrDiyDork flipped? hmmm, realtors flip houses, you and i, work, on dressers......[worked on].........
Very nice tip thank you
For all circular pieces like those feet, I like to chuck them up on a hand drill or drill press.
i work in a hardware store in melbourne australia this stuff is awsome
how is austrailia doing these days, heard a lot of violence in the streets from down under, just like in chicago which is way east of me up here
I work on an old military ship...brass EVERYWHERE. Thanks for the advice this will save me soooo much time!
Awesome. Glad to help!
Try Kethup and stainless steel pot scrubber works on brass copper (w ketchup) and aluminum.
soak brass in white vinegar and salt for about an hour, it will clean it without scratching. Then use a brass polish.
HOLY COW did this WORK FOR ME!!!!!!! thank you thank you thank you! Had a HUGE brass coffee table that had been neglected. Made it look like new.
Small brass objects can be easily cleaned and polished with a high quality high capacity ammunition case vibrating tumbler, ground dried corncob media, and Nu Finish liquid car wax in the orange bottle
I have old copper cabinet handles...any suggestions for them?
Seems like You would have a light grit drill bit & use that instead of elbow grease?
I just cut circles out of scotchbrite pads and use a dremel...way easier and fast. And use flitz polish so it polishes at the same time
I'll have to try that out. Great idea!
Awesome!! You don’t happen to know how to get the dried Brasso out of the cracks after, do you? 😢😢😢
Try bar keepers friend it is amazing. You just give a little rub and it will instantly remove all the tarnish without any effort. Works better than brasso.
Thanks for the video! I am wondering if some steel wool would work just as well. Also - please use gloves and do this in a well-ventilated area (or use a respirator) because the stuff is very toxic and the fumes will give you a headache (and probably isn't good for your pets, if you happen to have any). Cheers!
Thanks! Liked and subscribed!
haha, i'm sitting here watching this polishing a copper bracelet.... And I'm going to say I think I'll stick with the good ol' fashioned way, no unsightly scratches and it's damned therapeutic to boot.
Nice one 👍
All well and good. But what about all of the scratches that the block leaves behind. Might as well use 2000 grit wet and dry paper
awesome
What grit would I get for that sanding block? Lowes has only 120 med-fine grit listed. Anyone?
You know, you're supposed to let the brasso dry on the metal before you rub it off. You don't need to rub it unless you;re trying to remove scratches. I polished my brass belt buckle every day for twenty years in the Army, and I can tell you, you're doing it wrong.
Roger Merritt my tuba is scared because of leaving brasso on too long
Perhaps you can use some thick floss to clean the grooves.
THanks!!
You really should try Flitz metal polish, it's dar superior to Brasso & use a pice of corse, medium & fine scotchbrite (scrunge) & it will work amazing & is fast. Flitz is pure magic!
I'll have to try it out!
I agree. I’ve used every polish there is and flitz is hands down the best.
We have several brass figurines and I use ketchup. Smear on a good coat of it, let stand a minute or two, then rinse. Dry and buff it up.
+Neal Crosson-Hill That's sounds really interesting. I'll have to try that out next time.
ketchup has vinegar in it so vinegar alone would do the job if you boil it in vinegar for a minute of two
I just cleaned an old fire extinguisher using ketchup - it works! And it cleaned up the brass plate on the front too. Easy peasy!
seven mins to tell me to use a sanding brick?
Yasser Arafat do you polish oranges???😗
To scratch the brass
This is stupid.
and Brasso WTF i clean brass with 0000 Fine steel wool and lemon oil ...cheaper and more effective in my opinion
David Tokio
Excellent tip! Thank you 😊
you should use a dremel or some sort of small grinder and a buffing wheel, and the brasso polish. it will go a lot faster.
Yep, that would speed things up even more.
It can'tgo faster.It takes 1 minute.It takes longer to take the dremel out!
I know, but that is time excluding the dremel preparation.
Brass hardware on furniture is typically lacquered. That is why you were having such difficulty polishing it with Brasso at the beginning of the video.
Brasso will eventually strip lacquer due its abrasiveness. However, you should simply remove the lacquer with lacquer thinner or paint stripper and then polish the brass with the polish of your choice.
When you sanded the hardware, you were stripping the lacquer and subsequently abrading the brass.
Also, you should always first determine if the hardware is solid brass or brass plated iron or steel. You can do this with a magnet. If the magnet sticks, the item is brass plated over iron or steel. If you sand brass plating, you risk wearing through the plating and revealing the underlying iron or steel.
Was that built up hand oils and gunk not paint?
I use 0000 steel wool. Then polishing compound.
It won’t scratch heck out of the piece.
Thanks
its quick because its harsh on the brass,the more harsh material you use on brass the quicker it will tarnish,if you don`t have buffing wheel and brass compound try a little less harsh with
000 wire wool soaked in car polish,then use a cleaner to remove the wax from the polished brass,then use a two pack cure bright to coat the brass,this will give a very hard clear coating,saves all that redoing every year,hope this helps
It worked thanks
What grit of sand paper/ sanding block?
Can i use this same technique on a Brass Cross that was made for me or should I try the toothpaste like Linn Lindstrom suggests?
+Patty Chisholm I'd try the toothpaste first, since it's probably a bit less aggressive. If you need to take it further, then you could try this out.
Thanks
What grit is the sponge??
4 ought steel wool
"to really save time " he says at 1:55, I think we are going to get Trick # 1
nope... trick 1 is about to appear at 3:00
Never ever use an abrasive substance on brass or any metal!! You destroy it and remove the material. Suck it up and use the brasso and a tooth brush
I believe that the goo you’re describing is many years of kitchen grease.
Great trick, but quick trick videos need to be much shorter in length, i.e. “quick”. That said, thank you for sharing your techniques with us. As a tip for you to try, others have found that the liquid form of Bar Keepers Friend is a very quick and effective treatment for tarnished brass, followed by polishing with Brasso or its equivalent, or by lacquering. Mohawk, a specialty manufacturer of refinishing products, makes a spray can lacquer specifically for brass.
Use wet and dry and you can get the same result but with a mirror finish
Brasso in Ireland comes as a soaked rough wool so already does that. The US Brasso doesn't seem as good.
Just scratching. Tarnish comes back 10x faster unless it's coated.
What about pitted lacquer over brass
always put a link to the magical product...
Lol Directions of use institutional matel polish (ecolab): shake well before using. Squeeze onto a soft dry cloth. Rub on metal and allow to dry to film. When dry , polish with a clean soft dry Cloth
I dont know if that the installation of what you are using but if you read the installation for the fastes way
If it's not polishing, probably has a lacquer on it. Rinse with lacquer thinner first.
A lot of older brass is covered with lacquer. =...knobs, bed frames etc. Use Lacquer thinner or Denatured Alcohol to first remove THAT, then polishing is super fast without compromising the coating of brass plated objects. If solid like some large Indian decorative, ornate wall plates , knobs. beds ---the Brasso with scotch bright or"0000" steel wool makes short work of it.
Been working with brass for 50 years and sanding is NOT the way, use mild acids like vinegar or citric and then polishes like brasso or barkeepers friend. I have not used salt with the mild acids, BUT I am going to try that, but the piece must be rinced with water after and dried to remove any salt before the polish.
Fine wire wool is better, put a bit of brasso on it and it gets perfectly into the contours of awkward items.
Yeah, someone else mentioned that and I bet it could get into the nooks and crannies even better.
David Croft 3.5 minutes of " letmeshowyou illshowyou" and then he has scratched the plain surface
I used to think that brasso was the best product for brass polishing, but blue magic blew brasso out of the water, you should give it a try it's not pricey
What about 000 fine steel wool pad with Blue Magic?
Let the Brasso sit for a while first. Rub it in a bit with your fingers then let it sit. Then go ahead and polish it up with the paper towel.
Thanks for the tip!
2^STONED
2^STONED a
A great way to completely wreck your polished brass and copper! It will turn into almost matt finish. Just soak it in vinegar or lemon juice, a slight polish after with brasso and it will look like new.
It's worked great for me, but I do prefer a "brushed" finish.
Do you know if this will work on Brass Intruments also??
+whovalock I would think so as long as you're careful and do a small test section in a hidden area first. If the instrument is just plated with brass (I'm not sure if they're all solid or if some are just plated), you'll definitely want to be careful not to go too deep. You could even try a brass wire buffing wheel on a dremel tool for the hard to reach spots.
would this work on vintage brass belt buckles ?
I would NEVER....NEVER NEVER NEVER.....did I say NEVER(?) use any sandpaper type item on an instrument. Although Brasso itself can be abrasive, it's nowhere near as damaging as one of those sandpaper sponges would be. Brass wire buffing wheel??? OMFG......NO. With a musical instrument, you should never be aiming for the speedy way to get done. Lastly, if your instrument is lacquered and want that lacquer to remain, there's no need for even Brasso. Just use some dish soap with a wash cloth to remove any gunk. If you're down to the bare brass, just go with Brasso or you might consider Simipolish as well.
OMG, you are absolutly right!!! No way getting any sand paper, with whahever grit close to my instrument. OMG i would not do that to a door knob!!!! Take your time and do it the classic way even if it took you a week to get the job perfectly done.Rubbing your instrument to shine is spiritual act of love, do it while listening to your music or waching your favorite show.
OMG SAME
Or just use red scotch brite way easier and for protection use any car wax and thats it!
I bet the red scotch brite is more flexible too. Thanks for the tip.
no, the crevices will retain wax and dry and be difficult to remove
what grit, how fine?
+Shawn Fredette The foam sanding block I was using was just labeled "fine" when I bought it. It actually has 2 grits on it. I'd say one side is about a 120-150 and the other is probably around a 200-220 or so.
Try tomato ketchup on the brass, leave for 20mins and rinse or wipe off with water. Not so messy with all the black strip mess on everything.
Are there other kinds of ketchup besides tomato?
There's a lot of ways sand paper sponge is good Method removes Pitting and Heavy Oxidation but afterwards want to Wet sand water & dish soap too with 1500 2000 grit if going for high Quality Finish Fine very Fine Steel Wool works as well than your Brasso Can't beat good ole fashion Elbow grease
Steel wool is a far better choice and much less aggressive.
0000 only
But how to temove all the scratches, caused whit the sanding block ?? 🤔😫
I used vinegar and salt and parts of the brass are pink. Got any tips?
+Jimmy Ikon Hmm, not sure about that.
Sanding is a good way to ruin a valuable curio or family heirloom.
If you're in the furniture sales business you should know that.
I redo almost exclusively trashed out thrift store / craigslist furniture, so the sanding helps make it quicker. I wouldn't do this on a really nice piece.
Um, you might want to mention that since people might be ruining their really nice pieces, and as seen in the comments, even their wind instruments!
@@MrDiyDork but what if a friend or neighbor wants to buy or get a piece you have worked on, always pays to do it right the first time......
Professional Strength Goof Off will remove paint, that weird textured paint stuff and rubber gripping off of hardware in a matter of seconds with no elbow grease needed. I use that stuff for anything and everything that needs cleaned (be careful-the Pro Strength will remove topcoats and paint to th wood-Regular strength won't), stripped, paint removed off of furniture, items, cloths-evenif thepaint is old and dried.
Would brass o work on an antique cash register crank style machine I have in my collection? Let me know!
Just break out the Dremel and some polishing wheels!