Brass Polish

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Model T Ford Forum: Forum 2012: Brass Polish
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Larry Smith on Tuesday, October 16, 2012 - 09:46 pm:

There is a new brass polish on the market that is pretty good stuff. It's like Simichrome and Wenol. It's called Maas. You get over twice the amount for the same price as those two. I hear it is better, but to me, I'd say it's about the same. The best part is, it's made in the USA! I've been using Nevr Dull for years and still like it the best.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Richard Wolf on Tuesday, October 16, 2012 - 10:28 pm:

Larry;
Where can you get this Maas?
Richard


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Matthew David Maiers on Tuesday, October 16, 2012 - 10:55 pm:

ive seen it marketed at swaps, it seems to work about as good as Flitz, i believe it uses the same principal as flitz, because as i remember they are both advertised non abrasive and they smell similar. the maas is a bit thicker than flitz, which is a plus.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Paul Mikeska, Denver CO on Tuesday, October 16, 2012 - 11:32 pm:

http://www.maasinc.com/


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By HARRY A DAW on Tuesday, October 16, 2012 - 11:36 pm:

Did a Google search for Maas. They have a webb site and it also appears as though it is available through Amazon and Ebay. There are some pretty nice reviews.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bob McDonald-Federal Way, Wa. on Tuesday, October 16, 2012 - 11:56 pm:

Make sure you type in maasinc.com and not match.com or you'll be in a lot of trouble.
Just couldn't resist.

Bob


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Steve McClelland on Wednesday, October 17, 2012 - 12:52 am:

FYI..... Best deal I've found on Wenol was eBay I got the red tube and the blue tube for less than you get one tube of either at the shows. $11 bucks for one $10 for the other every show I've been to it goes for $19 bucks for one tube....
You may want to check eBay for mass as well think I'll go look now.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Rob Heyen - Nebraska on Wednesday, October 17, 2012 - 01:07 am:

Maas has been around for some time. Personally I thought Wenol worked better when I had both.

Rob


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Matthew David Maiers on Wednesday, October 17, 2012 - 02:14 am:

i think it depends on what you are trying to do, if you are trying to remove rust like tarnish from brass, or just maintaining a shine.


ive been using Flitz for awhil now, dont really know where it came from, just showed up in the shop one day. works amzingly! but i just looked up the price of it. about 50+ bucks for a 2lb can (OUCH). the maas which works about the same is only abot 17 bucks a pound can. id say the maas wins as far as price goes. but i will say the flitz showed up a few years ago, and less than half of its gone, so im gettin quite a bit of use out of it.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bob Bishop, San Diego on Wednesday, October 17, 2012 - 02:37 am:

Maas is half the price on Ebay that it is on their website. I've used it for quite awhile, and think it's better and easier than any thing I've used before. Takes a lot less too.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John F. Regan on Wednesday, October 17, 2012 - 09:13 am:

I sure wish they had not discontinued "Tarnite". It was the best non abrasive polish as far as I know. Anybody know what ingredient or stuff that was in it that made it get banned?


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Robert Poane on Wednesday, October 17, 2012 - 11:03 am:

I find of all the brass cleaners and polish, good old fashion brasso works the best. Then use Ibiz on the car and brass to polish. Brasso and Ibiz.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Frank Harris from Long Beach & Big Bear on Wednesday, October 17, 2012 - 01:24 pm:

Flitz will keep the brass nice for over 60 days it that means anything to you. Get it at West Marine and get on their Captains list and you will get $10 off on your next can and that is $20 a pound for the blue cream.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Larry Smith on Wednesday, October 17, 2012 - 01:35 pm:

Here is the address for Maas:
7101 Adams Street, Suite 3, Willowbrook, Ill. 60527-8432. Send $19.95+$5.95 shipping&handling.
You get two big tubes, and a polishing cloth. There is nothing in this for me. This is how I got it.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By David Chantrell - Adelaide, Australia on Wednesday, October 17, 2012 - 05:16 pm:

I use the German made "Autosol" paste in a tube, good stuff. I then use a lightly impregnated rag with Mr. Sheen on the lights, horn, windscreen etc.

The main thing is to keep oxygen away from the brass. I keep the lights in a airtight bag with silica gel and they only go on the car the morning of the run and come straight off when I return home. This way I get months out of a polish.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Erich Bruckner, Vancouver, WA on Wednesday, October 17, 2012 - 05:26 pm:

Some time back our club did a large (case?) purchase of the MAAS, so the cost for each was reduced. To long ago to remember how much. I like how well it works on brass.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Keith Townsend ; ^ ) Gresham, Orygun on Wednesday, October 17, 2012 - 07:37 pm:

I've used Maas and Wenol both. They seem about the same. I used to get Wenol at the State Fair...

I used Met-All aluminum polish on my ALF which has a German Silver radiator. We used for the Radiator and the nickle plating. It has no brass, so I don't know how well it works on brass.

Has anyone used Prism Polish?
http://www.boatshowproducts.com/prism-polish

Or Cobra Brass and Brass Wizard?
http://cobrabrass.com/demo.htm

: ^ )


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ed Archer on Thursday, October 18, 2012 - 04:36 pm:

As much as I hate the polishing job, Met-All works as well on brass as it does on german silver, nickle, and copper.
#4 out!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bob Coiro on Thursday, October 18, 2012 - 05:17 pm:

I polish once or twice a year and use a combination of products because as I go from one brand to another, the brass keeps getting brighter. When the polishing cloth stops turning black, I switch to the next brand and then more black tarnish comes out—and when that stops purging black tarnish, I switch again.

Could it be that different brands of polish take out different types of tarnish? I go from Brasso to Simichrome, to Mother's, to Cape Cod and then I hit it a coat of old-fashioned Simoniz to keep the oxygen and humidity out.

Seems to work, but I'm sure there must be a better way.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By mike conrad on Thursday, October 18, 2012 - 07:54 pm:

As crazy as it sounds I use mothers mag and aluminum polish. Really works great.(look at my profile pic) No offence but a friend of mine polished his 1909 Michell with brasso and it looked like hell. We repolished it with mothers and I am sure he would never use brasso again. And oh boy there is way too much brass on a 09' michell


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ricks - Surf City on Thursday, October 18, 2012 - 08:33 pm:

Mothers make you shine.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Neil Kaminar on Friday, October 19, 2012 - 07:25 am:

Keith,

I use Prism Polish and like it. It does a better job than the others I have tried, including Simichrome and Mothers. Lately, like Bob, I have been waxing the brass after polishing it and this seems to preserve the polish a little longer.

Neil


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Royce in Dallas TX on Friday, October 19, 2012 - 09:35 pm:

Mother's here. Works fine, available at any auto part store.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Rob Heyen - Nebraska on Friday, October 19, 2012 - 09:52 pm:

Royce and Ralph, agreeing on the same brand? I've got to find a new forum. :-)


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ricks - Surf City on Friday, October 19, 2012 - 10:37 pm:

Mothers are special to me, as their HQ is a mile from my house, and I won a bucket of their products at a car show. The answer was B-36; I don't remember the question. The product I've used most on brass is their mag polish.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Robbie Price on Friday, October 19, 2012 - 10:59 pm:

I have used Mothers for years. As a youth I used it to polish the aluminum centerline mag wheels on my old Camaro. A quality product!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John Mays on Saturday, October 20, 2012 - 02:15 pm:

It appears that the radiator ran over at some time in the past and stains were left on the top. I've used Brasso and Harley Davidson polish and neither of them touch the stain. Looks like it was the coolant that made the stain. Suggestions???


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Gene Carrothers Huntington Beach on Saturday, October 20, 2012 - 02:36 pm:

The easiest polish that I have used on my 12 has been a product called Bright Boy. With very little rubbing it easily removes lots of neglected tarnish. You wipe it on and remove it before it dries. The draw back is that it doesn't give that deep reflection that we like to see in our brass. To get a better shine after the Bright Boy I apply a polish called Blue Lustre. It has a silicone that also keeps the brass shinning much longer.
This is that same polish that Brassworks uses when they polish the brass radiators before shipping. So far I really like it and it's pretty easy to use.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Rob Heyen - Nebraska on Saturday, October 20, 2012 - 03:02 pm:

John,

Wenol has taken radiator coolant stains off for me. Both our N and K have original rads and Wenol has cleaned them up. If you have a really bad area, I've used muriatic acid (cut with water, about 3 parts water, use rubber gloves).

The acid will leave some brass "pink" but that will then come out with your polish.

Rob


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Matthew David Maiers on Saturday, October 20, 2012 - 03:23 pm:

interesting tid bit brass polish containing ammonia will weaken brass. i have no idea if would have any affect on model t stuff.

but i was just reading through my sierra loading manual and it said to not use ammonia brass polish on rifle brass because it could cause it to explode.

thought it was interesting


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John Mays on Saturday, October 20, 2012 - 05:47 pm:

Thanks Rob. I'd like to try Wenol. Where did you find it? NAPA or where? Thanks for the help.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By P. Jamison on Saturday, October 20, 2012 - 05:58 pm:

The brass restoration guys always warn about using polishes containing ammonia. It will cause weakness and splitting in sheet brass such as used in headlamps, horns, etc. Most guys seem to use ammonia anyway, however.

Phil


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Mike Walker, NW AR on Saturday, October 20, 2012 - 06:27 pm:

Brasso smells to me like it has ammonia in it, but it's what I've always used since the 60's, when I was a servant for my rich Uncle. :-)

Guess I'm gonna' have to try some of this "new-fangled" stuff y'all keep talking about.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Rob Heyen - Nebraska on Saturday, October 20, 2012 - 06:41 pm:

John,
I have bought it from Restoration Supply in CA.

http://www.restorationstuff.com/catalog.html

The stuff isn't cheap.

Mike,

I vowed never to use brasso again after my "all expense paid government travel plan" and I've stuck to it. :-)


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Robert Poane on Saturday, October 20, 2012 - 06:43 pm:

I used to buy every brass and metal polish
Hershey had to offer every year for about 20 years! Then I found the one I really liked and decided to just stick with what works for me, because what works for the next guy might not shine with me and visa versa. (pun not intended, but I thought it was pretty good!lol)


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Joe Van Evera on Saturday, October 20, 2012 - 10:56 pm:

Everyone seems to search for the magical brass cleaner. While everyone seems to prefer one product over another, I think that "elbow grease" is really the most important thing for pretty brass...


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John Mays on Sunday, October 21, 2012 - 09:02 am:

Rob, I just ordered a tube of Wenol on eBay. Costs $9.99, including shipping. I'll try it out and report. Thanks


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Richard Wolf on Sunday, October 21, 2012 - 09:21 am:

I bought a can of MET-ALL, a 16oz. can at a hardware store yrs. ago for $4 something.
Good stuff.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Neil Kaminar on Sunday, October 21, 2012 - 09:40 am:

Rob,

I had some spots on my radiator that would not polish out by hand. I use a buffing wheel on my electric drill motor and the red buffing compound bar, otherwise known as jewelers rouge. I then went back over with the hand polish. For detail work I used my Dremel with a small polishing wheel. To hand polish the grooves where my polishing rag won't reach, as around the Ford name, I use an old tooth brush.

Neil


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Steve Jelf, Parkerfield KS on Sunday, October 21, 2012 - 10:07 am:

Neil's comment gets at something a lot of people may not realize. Some of those "stains" on brass aren't just discoloration. They're indentations where some chemical has eaten into the surface, and the only way to remove them is to remove enough of the surrounding brass to make the area level again. This is why after polishing you want to use some kind of wax or other repellant that will protect the surface from penetration by at least some liquids.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John F. Regan on Sunday, October 21, 2012 - 10:38 am:

I used Brasso in college to spiff up the ROTC brass stuff that was part of the required uniform. Rolla MO was a "land grant" college and ROTC was required for all underclass men. I later used Brasso once on one of my brass cars - it was really way too abrasive and left pretty hefty scratch marks on things that had large clear areas of sheet brass where it was really noticeable. It took a lot of polishing and buffing to bring back the luster after the Brasso thus I have never used it since. I would warn newbies to test their proposed polish on a sheet of brass that is not valuable to see how abrasive the polish is before using it on their T. Everyone has their favorites but my favorite was discontinued - and it wasn't Brasso - go figure.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By George Button III (Chip), Lake Clear, NY on Monday, October 22, 2012 - 09:05 am:

John, I have the same problem! My favorite is no longer being made. I am still looking for a chemist to make me a batch so I can continue using it. I think it is the best....Chip


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ricks - Surf City on Sunday, November 04, 2012 - 11:49 pm:

I've cleaned up the rad, and will lacquer it again. I do too much driving to keep it polished. Salt air and dew here are bad combo. Part of the rad has tarnished again before I could get it all cleaned and repaired.

What polish doesn't have silicone or whatever that would prevent the lacquer from sticking?

Anybody have a favorite coating?

rdr


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By william louis rosenthal on Monday, November 05, 2012 - 07:45 am:

I thought about doing my radiator in lacquer, then did a quickie test with 3 commercial lacquer formulations, to see which performed best. Finding was that none were satisfactory. I shot 3 small polished brass cans with each, and poured hot water into them, then left it sit over-night. Next day, each displayed an unsettling irredescence that convinced me that oxygen had reached the brass. A radiator is a lot of work and a large piece to do over when it doesn't last, so that notion hit the round file. Others say lacquer works well for them, but did not for me, and removing it was a time consuming mess.
Regards,
Scott


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Hervey Purcell on Monday, November 05, 2012 - 11:39 am:

I see a lot of suggestions and I have tried most of them and the BEST that I have found and now what I use is called Brite Boy Metal Polish. I find that I can polish all of my brass in about 1/2 the time and 1/2 the effort. I bought my last bottle on ebay at about $25.00 for a 32 oz bottle.

Hervey


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By R. S. Cruickshank on Monday, November 05, 2012 - 08:07 pm:

I always wanted a brass T and found one nearby that was an old restoration but kept really nice for about 45 years. The first task was to polish the brass and it turned out to be a family affair. Now several years later, polishing brass is a lonely affair. I decided recently to seek relief and have a pro polish and coat the head lights(mine are big like found on 11/12), side lights, tail light, horn, and gas generator. I will still have to do the windshield and radiator but I didn't feel confident that the coating would be satisfactory on the radiator. I'll let you know how it looks!!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ricks - Surf City on Monday, November 05, 2012 - 08:39 pm:

As with paint, 90% of the success of coating brass has to be the preparation. For this job you don't want a final brass polish that contains silicones or other preservatives, which is the heart of my question above.

The radiator I coated several years ago didn't fare any worse than the headlights. Removing the coating was easy enough with citristrip and a plastic scraper.

A problem with coating is the spots where the coating fails, and corrosion sets in. If let go, there will be a deep wound, which requires extra buffing.

rdr


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Peter Kable on Monday, November 05, 2012 - 09:03 pm:

Hervey beat me too it Brite Boy is the best I have found. Takes off tarnish easily with little or no elbow grease and leaves nothing behind.

The Town Car has masses of brass and can take 2 full days to polish properly so I have the small parts like the internal roof latches, trim around the leather roof, door handles and any other small items which are a pain to polish done in clear finish and it lasts about 5 -8 years depending on where we have been and how much exposure to the elements it gets. I usually take them off the car use the buff machine and rouge to polish them up before clearing and replacing.

The parts that get hot- radiator, head, side and tail lights are a waste of time because of the heat especially the acetylene lights they get so hot. For the time it lasts and the then need to strip off the clear makes it a waste of time for me, easier to polish again especially now I have "Brite Boy" I only payed about $15 for a bottle. Its used a lot for marine brass.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Greg Griffin on Monday, November 05, 2012 - 09:08 pm:

Has anyone tried TR-3 Resin Glaze on brass?


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ricks - Surf City on Monday, November 05, 2012 - 09:23 pm:

Where do you get the TR-3, Greg? What part of Surf City do you live in? I'm on Old Pirate, near Meadowlark Golf, and Gene C. is across the old airport west of me.

rdr


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Greg Griffin on Monday, November 05, 2012 - 10:21 pm:

I haven't tried the TR-3 yet, but I've seen it at O'Reilly's and Pep Boys. I live near Warner/Newland.

I have seen brass that was clear powder coated; it seemed to work well and held up to high heat but would not stand endless handling. I also saw brass treated with a product called "syncro-lac" (spelling?) which was supposed to chemically bond with brass to exclude oxygen. It worked o.k. but would not stand high heat--the heated brass turned black beneath the coating.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ricks - Surf City on Monday, November 05, 2012 - 10:43 pm:

I'll check out the TR-3, thanks. Is it in the Triumph section? :-)

My neighbor has a powder coating business, and he says you need some tooth for it to adhere to the metal. It depends on mechanical adhesion, not chemical. You can't have tooth, and polished brass, too. What's your experience with it, Peter?

Gene and I usually carpool to OCMT Club meeting at about 7 on second Tues, and we go right by you. We'd like to have you join us next week.

Rong Beach T club meets 2nd Thurs, so will be coming up sooner, this week. We leave about 7 for there also, although it's only over in Los Al. Come on over and join us. My house is the last one on the left.

rdr


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ricks - Surf City on Monday, November 05, 2012 - 10:46 pm:

Oh, and you can't bake soldered parts at 460F, as used for fusing powder.

I learned that with a pair of repro fenders. Had to have them welded back together.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Greg Griffin on Monday, November 05, 2012 - 11:05 pm:

Ricks- I attend the OCMTC meetings; I'll take you up on your offer to carpool, thanks. Guess now I'll find out which one you are. (grin)


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Peter Kable on Tuesday, November 06, 2012 - 02:06 am:

Ralph, First thought was forget the parts with solder, Powder will stand the heat from the radiator but the solder won't stand the heat needed for powder so radiators, lights used with their flame that are soldered will not, so that lets them out.

Powder would be OK on other parts but I can see no advantage over a proper brass clear coating. As eventually the brass will tarnish under the clear powder and will be harder to remove. Lacquer clear can be easily redissolved with its solvent.

Also- great repo guards, who in their right mind only solders them together, any metal worker worth his salt would weld them. You should be able to powder coat such parts unless someone used lead in their making/restoration - plane poor quality product.


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