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Brass

Brass, shaping, cleaning and patinating

This section on brass has due, to its wide subject matter been divided in many chapters, you may using the links here below, jump to the section you require or read the whole from top to bottom.
 
The Chapters are; Cleaning , Patinating , Supplies.
 

Cleaning

The best way to clean Brass is by removing it from the furniture and soaking it in a solution of Lemon Detergent and Ammonia (the lemon content will speedup dissolving of the oxides).
Use 1 parts household Ammonia to 2 parts of water, then add Lemon detergent till the solution is a very strong soapy one, if no lemon detergent is available a lemon ( one for each gallon or 5 liters of solution ) should be squeezed into the solution.
As this concoction is very strong it is recommended that gloves are used during the handling of the brass as the liquid will remove most oils from your skin.
Care should be taken that all objects are completely submerged and no air pockets are allowed, as the fumes of the ammonia will cause oxidization on the brass in those air bubbles, leaving a green patch.
The container should be non-ferrous, preferably glass or plastic, but should be sealable to avoid excessive evaporation of the ammonia.
If the pieces are thickly covered with wax or grease then Mineral Turps should be added to this mixture up to approx. the same quantity as the ammonia. ( This is also a very good degreaser for car parts )
If the brass pieces have a lacquer coating than they should first be soaked and washed with thinners (general purpose thinners will do in most cases), make sure that the container is thinners proof as all the thinners will be spilled upon dissolving of the bottom of the container.
Do not insert any iron parts into the same bath as iron may plate onto the Brass covering it with a red Copper like coating.
After a thorough soaking, between 2 and 24 hours lift a piece out and scrub it with a Brass wire brush, dipped in a little of the solution, which is in a separate container.
It is important to use a brass wire brush as this will, not only give it the right sheen, but will, for Ormolu or gilded pieces, not excessively remove the gold from the brass and also help to match the brass parts which are worn trough, to color in with the gilded parts, so that it practically impossible to tell which is which.
Wash the brushed piece straight away with clean water after brushing.
If the drying is to be done in groups then submerge it into clean water until one has a group of pieces together for drying.
 
Drying; rub dry with a clean towel taking care that no skin touches the object then wash it ( submerged ) in white spirit to remove any water from the piece and lift out and let dry in a safe place.
Do not handle the pieces unnecessarily as contact with the skin will leave oxidization marks way before the natural time.
It is best to wear white cotton or plastic gloves when fitting the pieces.
Left clean and dry those pieces of Brass would not need such a thorough cleaning for many years.
If a shine is required than a quick buffing will do that as al the oxides are removed already.
The Brass can be lacquered with " Stay Bright Lacquer " to protect it from oxidation, buffed pieces should first be washed with general purpose thinners or white spirit.
 
Clock parts ( dissembled movements ) may be cleaned in the same manner, taking care to use a separate container for this.
Do not, leave gears with steel shafts and other iron parts excessively long in the solution, as the iron may plate on to the brass leaving a red coating.
To shine, those parts require only a light buffing as all the oxides and contaminations are all ready removed.
Gilded clock parts should not be buffed up as this removes the gilding.
 
 
 

Patinating

In order to give brass a nice Verdigris (green oxidized) color on new brass, one has to expose the brass to ammonia fumes.
New brasses are invariably coated with Incralac, this is a colorless lacquer especially developed to protect polished brass against oxidization.
This coating or any other coatings such as wax needs to be removed before (re)patinating.
To remove this coating, just place the brass in thinners (make sure you use a thinners proof container, many plastic containers melt after a short period) and wash the lacquer of after a short (15 min.) period.
Then wash them directly again with some clean thinners and ammonia (either mixed or separately) to make sure all the lacquer is removed.
Be sure to use proper protective gear, during those processes.
Now expose the brass to ammonia fumes.
I always use a bucket, placing a little ammonia in the bottom and hang the brasses on a string above this then I cover the bucket to make sure that the ammonia fumes don't escape to much.
The next morning they will be all oxidized.
If you let them dry then the will turn a nice verdigris green, if you prefer a darker color the you'll have to wax them.
By using steelwool to wax the brasses one can lighten the patina or rub the patina trough in places in order to highlight the brass, giving the brasses a nice used look.
 

Supplies