I am getting ready to redo a brass model. It has a pretty heavy coat of tarnish, and I want to remove it - any suggestions on an inexpensive, not-super-toxic method? I spent a lot of time polishing brass in a prior life, so I’m not averse to elbow grease (and yes, I know Brasso is not a sane option). My first thought was vinegar and an old t-shirt, but I’m open to suggestions, although not particularly interested in ultrasonic cavitating-bubble treatments or anything fancy like that.
I am also thinking about using Tomar pickup shoes to improve the electrical pickup - but I’m wondering whether it’s worthwhile. The model’s an old PFM Ma & Pa 2-8-0 with an open frame motor; electrical pickup on one side of the engine and the opposite side of the tender. Under the circumstances, will the shoes improve pickup that much, particularly through unpowered switch frogs?
Midland, I’m not sure that tarnish is any obstacle to painting the model, but hopefully someone else will chime in on that. I’d be concerned about whether vinegar might etch brass too noticeably. BTW, what is wrong with a jar of good brass polish?
I personally have not had pick-up problems with my Ma and Pa consolidation but with these small-wheelbase models I have always found that keeping the wheels clean is more critical than with larger locomotives.
I have painted models with light tarnish before, and I wasn’t dissatisfied with the results - but I want to see if removing the tarnish improves things - I have seen vinegar recommended on the grounds that a slight scoring helps the pain adhere.
You’re kidding, right? Besides the excellent chance of breaking off parts, how do you suggest removing all of the polish residue from under, in, and behind every nook & cranny?
I’ve only painted one brass item, an O scale caboose for a friend. I’d read that vinegar would remove tarish, so I gave it a try. I immersed about half of the caboose in a large jar for a while, and the cleaning was very evident, the vinegar made it look like new shiney brass.
Worth a try, especially if you can remove the running gear and just do the shell.
Just how old is the model? If it’s got a lacquer finish over the brass, it’ll have to be removed too, and that means paint stripper. Ditto if the tarnish is coming through a bad “gold” paint job (which most old, and even many new, brass stamers have).
If it’s just a little tarnish, you can get away with etching the model in vinegar and gently scrubbing it with a soft toothbrush. Be prepared to reattach a few parts along the way.
If the tarnish is heavy (turning green) you’re going to have to sandblast, preferably with baking soda.
Ah; you’re talking POLISHING, not tarnish removal. You’ve got two options:
Sandblast the snot out of the engine, hoping that the brass hasn’t discolored all the way through. Once done, clear coat the engine to preserve the shiny finish.
remove enough of the tarnish so the model will take paint, and do what the brass manufacturers do: zap the model with a coat of gold paint and clear coat.
First off, don’t bother with the Tomar shoes. Just add new wipers using the metal springs in old audio tapes (they’re phosphor bronze, the same as the Tomar shoes, and LOTS cheaper and easier to get).
Second, while adding extra pickup to small steam is us
The tarnish is at the reddish-brown stage, not yet green. But fairly heavy in places, and uneven. The model’s an old PFM from, I would guess, the mid-to-late 1960s and it doesn’t look laquered (I do have some stuff from the Seventies that was obviously laquered, but not this one) and it’s not painted. So I am hoping I can just get away with the toothbrush and vinegar treatment.
Any brand of clearcoat you’d recommend? I was just planning on getting it clean and giving it a good covering of Scalecoat paint, then baking it on.
I’ll take any suggestions you have to offer on the frogs - most of them are Atlas #6s, Code 83.
Depends on wether or not you have access to one ,or the bucks to buy one ,but I bet an ultrasonic cleaner would do a nice job on everything but the motor. I think they’re available thru Micro-Mark.
They are, but I’m not particularly eager to buy one - if I can get a satisfactory job by scrubbing the model I’m disinclined to pay the money for a machine that I can’t use for a bunch of different tasks.
For any Brass model I use Acetone. It pretty much clears the brass up to an unbelievable shine and gets it ready for paint. Acetone is a little harsh on the skin if you keep your hands in it for long periods of time. But it’s not the worse stuff in the world either. Just wear some rubber gloves and you’re set. Now I don’t remember what a jug of that stuff goes for but I know it’s not bad. Just go to your local hardware store and you should beable to find it no problem.
There is no need to remove any lacquer finish on the model unless it needs to be removed. It is fine to paint right over it. I have painted several brass steam and diesel OMI, Sunset, ect. models and only once did I have to remove the lacquer finish. It was because it chipped in a few places. Most brass importers will cover the model with some sort of fiinish. I just used vinegar to finely etch the brass, ( no more then 20 minutes). A good cleaning and sprayed a primer first to cover everything. It isn’t that hard to do. If you want some better instructions just email me for some good pics of engines I have painted.
TARN-X. Dip it in it and I don’t care if it has 1/8" thick greenish crud on it, it will come out untarnished. Zero parts breaking scrubbing required. Its a mild acid solution, I forget which off hand. Dry and prime quickly because really clean brass tarnishes quickly.
As to electrical pickup, brass is usually pretty good about that. I would wait and see what you have before adding anything. Make sure your pint job does not interfere with electrical contact between the truck frames and the body. If you need to add shoes they are probably going to need to be outboard of the wheels, in effect lengthening the wheelbase, and as such might be an eyesore.
I precede almost all my painting projects with vinegar; I don’t know whether it scores or not but it sure as aitch gets all the crude off of things. Whether that includes tarnish or not I don’t know; here on Poverty Acres brass - with one exception - has always been just a few steps beyond the south forty.
I just got caught with spelling ‘whetted’ ‘wetted’; it was obvious that you just missed the ‘t’ key and its easy to do when typing rather fast.
In answer to your question, as a matter of fact I do - but I do it very quickly because the vinegar can do a job on decals!!! IN-SCRUB-WITH-TOOTHBRUSH-UNDER RUNNING WATER!!!
Tarnish remover–at least enough to paint: 65% vinegar, 35% warm water. One soft toothbrush. Takes about two tries. Works. The ‘tarnish’ isn’t going to affect the paint, what you want to do is just make sure the model’s clean. The vinegar/water solution will do it.
Tomar track shoes will amaze you at the improvement in your running. The shank is quite slender, fits right between the drivers, you can hardly see them. Just follow the instructions for installing. Very easy. #60 or #61 drill bit, #90 tap (cheap from Walthers), no soldering required and you’re in business. Can or open frame, they really work. I’ve installed them on 95% of my brass locos so far, even a PFM open-frame L-131 2-8-8-2 that is probably about the same age as your Ma and Pa, was starting to run like a jackrabbit in heat. Installed them, little darling turned into a Swiss Watch. That was four years ago.
Does a brass locomotive really run any better than plastic locomotives? They do look interesting. All the ones in my LHS need painting. Not sure how I would do that. Also, I am DCC. Can brass be DCC?
Brass is a little different critter than plastic–some brass runs incredibly well, others need ‘tweaking’. All brass I’ve ever come in contact with can be made to run well, but it’s not really an “Out of the Box” type of thing like most of the newer plastic locos.
The reason that we brass operators run them is that one can get specific models of specific locomotive types for specific railroads. For instance, I model Rio Grande standard guage steam, there is very little to nothing available in plastic for these locos. Brass is more Prototype Specific.
I work on my brass locos, and I’ll admit that they need frequent ‘tune-ups’, possibly more frequently than plastic, but brass is extremely easy to work with, and very forgiving. As to converting brass to DCC, it’s quite easy–all one has to do is isolate the motor from the frame, install whatever DCC equipment is needed–most brass tenders have ample room in them for decoders and sound systems. Though I’m strictly DC myself, I’ve seen many DCC conversions, and I uncerstand that the conversions are quick and easy.
Yes, most brass locos come unpainted (though several manufacturers offer factory paint jobs for an additional fee) and painting them usually means a fairly complete disassembly. There are also many professional painters around the country that will do the job for you if you don’t mind the additional expense and waiting time (they’re usually booked up fairly well in advance). I paint most of my locos myself, and though it’s time-consuming, I’m usually pretty satisfied with the results. Brass also takes ‘weathering’ very well.
Even though most of my steam roster is brass, it is so for a specific purpose. If the railroad you’re modeling has a lot of steam available in plastic, then you really don’t need the additional outlay. However, I have brass locomo