polishing brass

[oldarmy]

I am sure this has been covered, but I have to know.
First, if i might digress>
I went to the old gun dealer that I used to spend a lot of money at.
When he asked where I had been,I told him I have a new "hobby" building my own flinters.
He seemed interested and when I told him I had my fowler in the car, he wanted to look at it, so I brought it in and he really checked it out.
His main comment was the brass wasn't polished enought.
He asked if I polihed with "emery paper"= sand paper and when I said yes.
he said I should polish with a buffing wheel and rouge.
My question is " is that the way they did in the 18th century?

 

[blksmth52]

Oldarmy,
I must disagree with your friend. You saw the brass on my fowler, that was all done with files and wet/dry paper. All the way to 1500 grit. As a matter of fact I didn't use any power tools at all. Sandpaper has been around for centuries. Anyway, a buffing wheel and rouge is fast and easy, but I dare say not very authentic for the 18th century.

 

[oldarmy]

I didn't say he was my friend, just a smart ass gun dealer, that doesn't sell flintlocks, because there isn't a market for them up here.
Has a nice "old " 70's pedersoli brown bess hanging above his counter that he had to brag about.
anyway thanks. I am going to polish the best I can and leave it at that.

 

[Treerat]

Buffing wheels and brass with nice fileings and other decorative facets just don't mix. They will round off any nice crisp edges that you wish to create. Anymore i just take her down too 400 grit emery then rub with steel wool but if you must make it mirror bright you can apply rouge to a piece of course cloth and back it up with a piece of wood like a sanding block. this will get as bright as a buffer without the roll over effect. Of course it has to be finished pretty good before you hand buff or you will be there a while.
Bill

 

[Zonie]

If you want to polish brass to a mirror finish I would suggest using wet/dry paper to at least 600 grit.
If the finest paper you can find is 400 grit, try using one of the "Brass Polishes" made for Brass lamps etc. That will get you to a little higher degree of shine than the 600 grit paper will.

I have mixed feelings about going to grits finer than the 600 because IMO no matter how fine you go with the paper, the work will still require the final polishing/buffing with a compound.

By the way, do not use "Copper Polish: at this stage. It is for scrubbing pans, not polishing them. It is much courser than 600 grit paper and will be a step backwards.

The best polishing compound to get to achieve a mirror finish that I've found is Wright's Silver Cream. I'm sure there are other brands which would also be good but I feel it needs to be designed to polish fine silver.

Using a fairly tightly weaved soft cotton cloth, apply the polish with circular or crosshatch strokes rather than polishing in one direction only. Follow the compound makers directions although you may not want to use as much water as they suggest.
You will find that you need to apply quite a bit of pressure. What your doing, is rubbing off the high points of the brass and "schmeering" some of the material into the valleys until it is one continious smooth surface.

This does take some time and elbow grease and once you've started and a quarter sized area is reflecting everything in sight the task will seem insurmountable but keep after it and you'll have that furniture shining like a new dollar.

 

[bpbrs]

IMPO

The only place brass should be polished is on a ship,building doors and fixtures and faucets.
Other than that let it age.

Bill

 

[Deerstalker]

I've polished it down to 600 grit emory, then used Flitz metal polish. That stuff is wonderful for polishing metal.
Bryan

 

[SAJones]

Can't really say how they did it "back when", but I do recall some gunshops built near running water to use that power. Grinding & polishing wheels were run by water power. Cannot put the two together for a positive statement on old time polishing, but I have seen originals w/ very smooth brass & some w/ file marks still in evidence. My original military guns have smooth finishes, & the inside of my 1842 lock is almost mirror bright. But these were national armouries.

I do polish my brass, usually w/ a fine compound called White Diamond. Polishing takes place after all file marks (& dings caused by my dropsy) are removed down to 400 or 600 grit, depending on the piece. I use a hard felt wheel occasionally, but usually a cloth wheel. Dremel-type wheels for small parts & hard-to-get-to areas. That, by the way, is the final polishing. I let my brass get dirty & oxidized. Looks better than a nice shiny rifle all the time.

 

[oldarmy]

Thanks for the advise.
I have 600 grit cloth, that's want I am going to use and then some superfin steel wool.
The rilfe is almost done and with the dark cherry stock nice shinny brass will make a great contrast.

 

[Hoyt]

That's one good thing about making hunting guns, I don't fool with polishing brass. Matter of fact the only compound I use on it is burnt blk pwdr.
I'm going to try some of that Birchwood Brass Black on the gun I'm working on now.

 

My question is " is that the way they did in the 18th century?

They mostly scraped and then burnished just like wood - sanding was sparingly used during that period. Take a look at original guns of the period and you will see the scraping "flats".

Polishing compunds, like rottenstone and pumice, were then used by hand on some higher end pieces.

 

[roundball]

Interesting the different perspectives on brass polishing...all my rifles have brass furniture and if I can't see my teeth in it I feel like I've slacked off...never known it to bother deer...probably need to cover it for Turkey though.