Tarnished brass

[Les Bird]

I have a couple of etched brass kits which I have had for some years. The brass components are heavily tarnished. Do I need to clean them and, if so, does anyone have any tips on how best to do that?

[Miss Prism]

Glass-fibre brush.

 

[Enterprisingwestern]

 

Coca Cola or brown sauce applied with a toothbrush, a lot less messy and painful than a glass fibre finger filler.

 

Mike.

[Michael Edge]

There's no real need to clean them if you use an acid flux (preferably phosphoric acid) but if you really want to try "Bar Keeper's Friend" and scrub them with an old toothbrush.

[woodyfox]

I've found through experience clean surfaces are key to good bonding. I use Bar Keeper's Friend and then budget washing up liquid on all metal parts before soldering. I also wipe with a pad soaked in IPA immediatley prior to applying flux. Possibly slight overkill, but i get a good, quick bond everytime. 

[Shed Driver]

Try VIAKAL kitchen stainless steel cleaner, limescale remover available in most supermarkets or under the kitchen sink.  cleans brass very quickly.

 

Norman

[Les Bird]

Thanks for all the help. I'll get on with the kits now.

[Michael Edge]

I use phosphoric acid as flux and never need to clean any etched brass or n/s before soldering - but I've only been doing this for a living for the last 43 years or so......

[Shed Driver]

Agreed

 

I've used Bakers (zinc chloride) for about the last 50 years,  Never had any problems, don't know why it's got a bad name for its self.

 

Norman Blackburn

 

PS I also use it on white metal.

[PatB]

6 minutes ago, Shed Driver said:

Agreed

 

I've used Bakers (zinc chloride) for about the last 50 years,  Never had any problems, don't know why it's got a bad name for its self.

 

Norman Blackburn

 

PS I also use it on white metal.

I suspect that it's the need for decontamination afterwards (either the effort of doing it or the result of not doing it) that works against Bakers Fluid. Personally I like it for "difficult" joints, but tend to avoid it if I can get away with something less aggressive. 

[Shed Driver]

I just wash under a tap.

[Michael Edge]

1 hour ago, Shed Driver said:

Agreed

 

I've used Bakers (zinc chloride) for about the last 50 years,  Never had any problems, don't know why it's got a bad name for its self.

 

Norman Blackburn

 

PS I also use it on white metal.

Have you seen what it does to steel?

[Shed Driver]

One model that I was building to commission , the customer wanted steel slide bars ( O gauge ).  I did a test with Bakers and Carrs Black label.  Carrs was more corrosive than Bakers.  My thoughts from my experience.

 

Drifting of topic, when using a decent flux the metal does not have to be clinically clean.

 

Norman

Edited August 14, 2020 by Shed Driver

[Enterprisingwestern]

2 hours ago, Shed Driver said:

 

Drifting of topic, when using a decent flux the metal does not have to be clinically clean.

 

Agreed, but cleanliness is a good state of mind to get into.

 

Mike.

[Satan's Goldfish]

Cillit Bang.... it works on Brass LGB rails anyway, I assume it should be ok for finer detail items?

[Siberian Snooper]

3 hours ago, Satan's Goldfish said:

Cillit Bang.... it works on Brass LGB rails anyway, I assume it should be ok for finer detail items?

 

That's what I use, modelling in 4mm.

 

 

[polybear]

9 hours ago, Satan's Goldfish said:

Cillit Bang.... it works on Brass LGB rails anyway, I assume it should be ok for finer detail items?

 

What flavour do you use - there's several I believe?

[david.hill64]

Horolene, but unless you want to varnish a brass finish there is no need to clean.

[Mark]

On 13/08/2020 at 22:22, Les Bird said:

I have a couple of etched brass kits which I have had for some years. The brass components are heavily tarnished. Do I need to clean them and, if so, does anyone have any tips on how best to do that?

I usually use a brass brush 1 inch wide and 4 inches long and lay the brass on a hard flat surface and clean the whole sheet before I remove anything. The beauty of that is you can get rid all dirt, remove any dents or other damage and don’t scratch the surface. It also works very well for removing any curvature in the brass.

 

I always like to solder on clean brass which is a lot easier in my experience than trying to solder tarnished brass. The flux will burn through but it needs more dwell time and heat before the solder starts to flow.

 

Mark

[Satan's Goldfish]

13 hours ago, polybear said:

 

What flavour do you use - there's several I believe?

 

I think it's some bathroom black mould the good lady wife has in at the moment. The advert for the original stuff used to show a tarnished penny being half dunked in and coming out shiny, so original basic should work just as well.