Cleaning brass without harming wood

[Hatcon]

Is there a good way to clean up dingy brass on a flintlock ? I just traded for a nice custom .45 flintlock . The rifle has a tapered ramrod a lot of engraving but the brass needs cleaned up. I just do not want to mess up the woods finish trying to clean it up. Or should I even bother?

 

[roundball]

Is there a good way to clean up dingy brass on a flintlock ?........the brass needs cleaned up. I just do not want to mess up the woods finish trying to clean it up.

Brass has been my preferred type of furniture on many MLs for going on 20 years.
My personal opinion is that brass should be clean and look like brass.

I used Brasso on all those MLs over all those years and never had a problem harming the finish on any of them...walnut stocks and maple stocks.

You need to decide for yourself of course as I can't see what you have...but a couple of easy cautious approaches could be:

Test try Brasso in one inconspicious spot and see how it does on your rifle's finish;

Use 'painters masking tape' to isolate the brass items from the adjacent stock wood;

 

[Hatcon]

I will try to post a picture tomorrow when my daughter can help me. I will try the Brasso .

 

[Stubert]

I like the old, used,aged look. I never polish my brass.

 

[Hatcon]

As soon as I can post a picture you will see what I mean . This rifle has a higher grade of maple with a good curl and a lot of unique engraving in the stock. The ramrod id tapered and the lock appears to be a small Siler with some kind of flash shield around the pan . It has a single trigger , but the pull is short crisp and breaks around 4 1/2 lbs. The barrel is signed Mike Lee. I do not know if that is the builder or the previous owner. Anyway it is such a nice rifle that cleaning up the brass seems proper and fitting. I also think if it can be done without harming the stock that it would add value. I have not even shot it yet. Hoping to get that done tomorrow afternoon.

 

[Zonie]

Every brass cleaner I know of uses some sort of an abrasive to do the actual polishing.

Because of this, when polishing make a concerted effort to avoid rubbing on the stocks finish.

With a bit of extra time to avoid rubbing on the wood I'm sure you'll have that brass shiny bright before you know it.

 

[earl jernigan]

I have used brasso on a pointed polishing attachment for my dremil tool. Works rite well.

HOSS

 

[Dphar]

Is there a good way to clean up dingy brass on a flintlock ? I just traded for a nice custom .45 flintlock . The rifle has a tapered ramrod a lot of engraving but the brass needs cleaned up. I just do not want to mess up the woods finish trying to clean it up. Or should I even bother?

If its engraved getting to enthusiastic with the cleaning can damage the engraving.
You can get some really fine abrasive from Brownells (5F IIRC). Flitz polish is another option. Mothers Chrome Polish is another. But use a soft cloth and a very light touch.
A fine polish should not harm the wood if it has finish on it but avoid the wood as much as possible. I would not clean it out of the engraving the contrast should improve the look.

Dan

PS Metal is engraved, wood is carved.

 

[russecv58]

wright's copper clean is great stuff....not sure how it'd affect a stock finish, but cleans brass really well. :thumbsup:

 

[paulvallandigham]

A small rag soaked in vinegar- either white, or wine, and some salt will clean any brass. Just be gentle, and patient, and let the chemistry do the work. then rinse off the stock and dry it with paper towels so that moisture in the cracks around any brass inlay will be soaked up, too.

Put good coat of wax over the stock, and brass to act as a temporary barrier between the metal and moisture in the air. Wax in the cracks will prevent future penetration of fluids into the cracks the next time you hunt in the rain, or clean the brass.

 

[Treerat]

If its the same Mike Lee that makes the Wakon Bay browning solution I would bet its a real nice piece. :thumbsup: I like the aged look myself but cleaning it up should show off any engraving better. Not really much help,just rambling.

 

Journeyman,
Yhe only Mike "Lea" that I know of as a gun builder lives here in central Ohio. If it's one of his it's probably a first class rifle. Check your spelling.
Mark

 

[Dphar]

Paul

Vinegar is acid and if it gets into the wood there can be problems with corrosion. Long term problems.
A fine polishing compound will not hurt the wood finish if its worth a hoot and careful use will not hurt the brass either.

Dan

 

[Many Klatch]

My wife has a Mike Lea gun. Mike usually uses an oil finish. That finish is pretty resistant to staining. However I don't know what level of "patina" (that's French for dirt) you are willing to accept. So try your brasso on the butt or something to see if it affects the finish.

FWIW - My wife has found that a mix of lemon juice and salt will take the corrosion right off of copper and brass. Just mix Real Lemon juice right out of the bottle with enough salt to make a wet sloppy slurry. Wipe it on and the patina comes right off.

Many Klatch

 

[ebiggs1]

Flitz polish is another option. Mothers Chrome Polish is another.
”¦ would not harm any of the wood finishes I use and may even improve the look. :wink: Besides cleaning the bras as a side benefit. I would never put vinegar and salt on my guns. :nono:

 

[paulvallandigham]

Dan: That is why I wrote my post as carefully as I did. I said SMALL rag- not large. I said take your time, and let the chemistry do the job- and NOT try to scrub off the tarnish. I ended by saying to rinse off the stock, and use paper towels to soak up the moisture( acid ) that might get down into the cracks.

All the products that are sold to remove tarnish involve reagents- combination of acids and salts. Some add abrasives. I don't like Abrasives, and particularly don't like them used on an antique!

Journeyman did not make it clear whether his gun is an antique( original) or just an old modern made gun. Several members here have posted comments about this confusion.

I have cleaned brass on older guns using a mild acid, and then dipping my rag into a teaspoon of salt with my fingertip backing the rag. It allows me to go into fairly small places without slopping over onto the wood. Sometimes, with the fancy patch box designs, I have had to resort to using Q-tips to apply the acid/salt compound to do the job CAREFULLY.

I certainly encourage people to use painter's tape( Blue colored masking tape) to protect finishes, and "crack" around inlays, if its obvious that the crack is large, or has no finish in it sealing the edge of an inlay. I have used paste wax to fill such cracks temporarily so that no fluid can get down into the cracks as I am cleaning the metal( brass, silver, steel, aluminum, etc.

If you use Bore Butter or "Wonderlube" or any patch lube that uses wax in it, there is no need to buy a furniture polish, or car polish that has wax in it. Use what you have to seal those cracks before working on the metal tarnish you want to remove. :thumbsup:

 

[Greenjoytj]

Try using a Krazy Kloth®, it is a piece of moist blue cloth that is packaged a in small thick zip loc bag for storage.

I use it on my cartridge brass it works very well and the cloth lasts a very long time. Keep the cloth it stored in the bag or a air tight jar. Brass polished with the Krazy Kloth® does not tarnish again for a long time if you don't touch the polished surface.
Keeping brass shiny around black powder exhaust gases is more work than bore cleaning so I now perfer the look of old tarnished brass, it's bulit in cammo.

 

[Hatcon]

It is Mike Lea.Thanks.The stock is carved and the brass is engraved. Thanks for all the suggestions. Does anyone know how to contact him ? And I am still working on posting pics. I feel like a luddite having to call my daughter to help.

 

[lonehorseman]

for what it's worth...after receiving my newly built Virginia rifle I couldn't wait for the brass to "become aged". I wouldn't want it green, but I love a bit of dulling on the brass. It all depends on what you are into, but nothing looks more "out of place" at a Rondy or 18th century event than bright, shiny brass.

 

[FJTBONE]

I have always had very good luck with "never dull"