Polishing Brass

[MCB]

Advice please on polishing brass.

I've used ordinary metal polish on a rag and the finish leaves something to be desired.

Are the polishing kits (such as the ones in the Axminster catalogue) any use?

Is the Heavy Duty one worth the extra cost?

Thanks for your help

MC

 

[Mike.S]

Not sure which of the Axminster kits you're referring to but I assume it's one like this.

If so, I have a similar set-up but for use on a 6" grinding wheel (with suitable 'pig tail' adapters). You can buy various grade mops and polishing compounds (rough to smooth) and I can vouch for their speed and effectiveness, though I've only polished small items. I purchased my polishing gear from The Polishing Shop and have always had good service and competitive pricing from them (no connection, yadda yadda...).

You can buy similar mops for drills, grinding wheels, dremels and other power tools.

HTH

 

[marcros]

have also used the polishing shop, so can add a +1 there.

They have this guide (scroll down on page) for brass http://www.thepolishingshop.co.uk/acata ... Guide.html

 

[pedder]

I polish quite a lot of brass. I sand up as fine as I can (2000 but you get a quite well finish with 400 and 0000 Steelwool) than use Autosol.

Cheers
Pedder

 

[Droogs]

Pedder, I think that may be the understatement of the year . Having seen some of yours and Klaus' most excellent work

 

[IHc1vtr+]

I get great results using, 1000/2000 then 4000 grit abralon.

 

[Mike.S]

. ... than use Autosol.

Yes +1.

I recently cleaned/polished a saw mediallion (not Two Lawyers quality I'm afraid ) using autosol and a toothbrush, then buffed with a cloth.. Worked a treat.

 

[chaoticbob]

MCB, if you can't get a good finish with Brasso and a rag then you need to go back a step (or several) and make sure you've got all the dings/scuffs/scratches out with abrasive paper or whatever - as others have said, somewhere in the region of 2000-2500 grit is necessary before you go on to a polish. Using a polishing wheel speeds up the final process, but possibly not by as much as you might hope - and it won't lead to a better finish than you can get by hand. There's a temptation to think that by using a wheel and compound you can skip from 'rough' to 'smooth' in one bound, but in my experience t'aint so. Finishing is tedious! I go 320 to take out machining marks, then 400, 600, 1200, 2500, Brasso if I want really a shiny finish.
Regards Robin.

 

[MCB]

MCB, if you can't get a good finish with Brasso and a rag then you need to go back a step (or several) and make sure you've got all the dings/scuffs/scratches out with abrasive paper or whatever - as others have said, somewhere in the region of 2000-2500 grit is necessary before you go on to a polish. Using a polishing wheel speeds up the final process, but possibly not by as much as you might hope - and it won't lead to a better finish than you can get by hand. There's a temptation to think that by using a wheel and compound you can skip from 'rough' to 'smooth' in one bound, but in my experience t'aint so. Finishing is tedious! I go 320 to take out machining marks, then 400, 600, 1200, 2500, Brasso if I want really a shiny finish.
Regards Robin.

Thank you for taking the time to respond.

I've got what appear to be black fingermarks on the surface.

Because I have bicipital and supraspinatus tendinitis, it's painful to make any repetitive movements with my arm.

I wasn't actually using Brasso but I guess one metal polish is a good as any other.

With best wishes and thanks again.


MC

 

[JJ1]

Have a look at a site called The Polishing Shop. I bought a whole load of stuff a while back, including several polishing mops/wheels, several polishing compounds, arbor's, flap wheels, etc. etc. I have been extremely happy with everything and the prices will be an absolute fraction of what Axminster charges!!!!! :roll: :roll: :shock: