Hi all,
I’ve just received a set of brass passenger trucks, however they appear to be encrusted with rust and badly tarnished:
Above is the worst of them. I’m wondering what would be the best way to clean these up so that I can assemble/paint them - would an alcohol-based paint thinner or acetone bath do the trick? If not, what would be worth trying?
Thanks in advance,
tbdanny
tbdanny - the answer is sand blasting or ultra-sonic cleaning. If that´s not available, try a small glass fiber brush.
Ulrich,
Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately, neither of those are available. My fiancee does have some liquid she uses to clean her jewelery - do you think that would do the job?
Cheers,
tbdanny
Also if no ultrasonic cleaner is available you might also want to try Generic household ammonia but be certain to fully submerge the item as the fumes will “eat” the brass if you have a cover on it.
I use it all the time in my ultrasonic cleaner and it works like a champ, best part is it’s cheap and not flammable…
Mark
Danny, when clean are you going to paint it or leave it brass color? If you are going to paint it, try some fine sand paper, say 400 or higher.
If you want it to be a highly polished brass finished try Brasso Polish. When I was in the Army that what I cleaned my brass on my uniform with.
The finish you want when you are done will have a bearing on how you should clean it.
Ken
Ken,
I’m planning to paint it - these trucks are going under a LaBelle D&RGW coach kit. I mainly want them clean to provide a good, solid solder joint. I’ll have to give them a hit with the sandpaper.
Would the rust in the axle bearings affect the rolling ability of the trucks at all?
Cheers,
tbdanny
Try immersing the parts in the jewelry cleaner for a few hours and then gently scrub with an old toothbrush, before resorting to more drastic measures such as sandblasting or sandpaper.
The corrosion in the bearings can effect the rolling qualities, so you’ll need to get out as much as possible and then apply a small amount of light oil.
Jewelry cleaner might work but I would experiment with just a quick dipping in the solution rather than soaking for a few hours. Jewelry cleaner does contain an acid that might damage/etch the brass.
Coin collectors also use a ‘cleaner’ for copper coins that might work, although this is generally frowned upon by the numismatic community it might be suitable for your trucks.
I’ve personally had excellent results using a dremel with a soft wire brush to clean brass parts/fittings.
Good Luck,
Wayne
By the way, and just so you know, brass doesn’t rust. It only tarnishes.
If you’re going to paint over it, you may only need to remove the tarnish from where it’s really needed, like places to be soldered or somewhere that needs good electrical contact. Otherwise, I would just paint over the tarnish.
I would go for the dremel with a brass brush mounted in it. Refrain from using anything harder than brass, ie; steel, stainless steel as it may deform the piece as it bites in.
Dremel also makes a brush with nylon bristles. I think any kind of metal brush may harm the finish (scratches/grooves).
You are correct, dependant on the brass. The nylon is too soft, but works ok if you are using some sort of rouge, steel can be ok if you keep the speeds down and don’t put lots of pressure on it, stainless is the same, but more aggresive. Oxidations tend to be much harder than the base metal and all brass is not the same in regards to hardness. There’s also the brush bristle wire size to take into account as well as any raised rivets and edges. The rotation must always go OFF the edge, never into it . The safest bet is to use similar material when using the rotary tools.
Media blasting is the best option. Barring that, use a brass wire brush in your Dremel to removed the worst of the “crusties”. Once that is taken care of, soak the parts in white vinegar for 10-15 minutes. This will neutralize the oxidation and slightly etch the surface - which is important for paint adhesion.
Mark.