Need opinions on the best way to clean a brass loco.I ave one that is showing too much tarnish.I 'm thinking to disasemble and dip the pieces in a liquid tarnish remover??
Tarnish isn't necessarily bad. A lot of people admire the "PFM patina" that graces so many of that importer's products. On the other hand, if it looks like a case of measles, it ain't so good. I have never tried to clean tarnish. Rather, I just paint it. Or have a pro do it. If you prefer the original brass, and a lot of modelers do, probably any brand of metal polish will do the trick. In preparing for painting I usually sandblast an engine. That seems to clean off the tarnish pretty well, too, so it may work for you. Once you get it shining again you might consider a coat of clear gloss to seal the brass from further tarnish. Good luck!
Charlie--
Is this a 'running' brass loco, or God Forbid, one that just sits in a display case? They aren't pieces of rare jewelry, they were built originally to operate. And if it's an operating brass loco, why don't you just prime it and paint it and not worry about the tarnish? I've got close to 55 brass locos, and they all 'work' on my MR. And they're all painted.
It's kind of like having an expensive purebred pet and not letting it run around the house, IMO. .
Tom
Tom View my layout photos! http://s299.photobucket.com/albums/mm310/TWhite-014/Rio%20Grande%20Yuba%20River%20Sub One can NEVER have too many Articulateds!
I have several brass steamers that I've had to clean up. I think with todays technology, I could get a CSI to tell me every person who has touched it since 1955 by the fingerprints etched into them. I plan on adding some details and some minor changes before painting them. I used a dremel with a nylon cup brush to apply some fine polish compound and followed up with the buffing wheel and a couple hours in the brass tumbler to remove the swirls. It definately makes them "bright brass".
I have seen ultrasonic cleaners used for this purpose.
Before you use any chemicals I'd make very sure what your problem is. Way back when brass engines were just that, raw brass, and I can recall seeing old brass engines for sale at Casanova's Hobby Shop in Milwaukee that were practically coffee brown from tarnsih.
But many makes of brass engines sprayed a clear or brass colored lacquer to give their products more uniformity (since formed sheet brass, lost wax brass castings, and stamped brass all tended to look a bit different) and to fight tarnish. It was also a good base for later painting.
Practicing or experimenting on the bottom of the tender, the empty coal load area of the tender, the underside of the cab, or some other out of sight area is always a good idea.
Dave Nelson
I saw a brass loco that was cleaned down to the brass, it turned out a mess, every solder joint showed up and they used different types of brass sheeting so it looked like a patchwork quilt, the fellow soon had it painted and (moderatly) weathered and he runs it too.
tatans I saw a brass loco that was cleaned down to the brass, it turned out a mess, every solder joint showed up and they used different types of brass sheeting so it looked like a patchwork quilt, the fellow soon had it painted and (moderatly) weathered and he runs it too.
I would agree with this comment. I have stripped many brass that were painted and they look pretty shabby with the solder joints showing. Clean it up. coat with some good primer and a nice paint job makes it look the best.. IMO
Most of my operating brass locomotives are dull, grimy black - except for the brass number plates, which are kept shiny.
The rest (catenary motors) are a grunge-maroon shade similar to aged rust - not because they are rusty, but because that's the color my prototype painted them.
I've never really considered how I'd clean one down to bare brass.
OTOH, I do have a couple of 40-year-old unassembled kits that are still 'virgin' brass. As soon as they're assembled and test run they will be given appropriate paint jobs and worked into the motive power rotation.
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)