restoring brass

[kenneth_rowin]

I am starting to restore an old Kodak 5x7 that was in the window of

a photo shop that has gone out of business. As it was a south

facing window, the bellows is shot and the finish on the wood and

brass is gone.

I am in the process of ordering a new bellows. The wood needs a bit

of sanding, some stain and some clear varnish. But its the brass

that has me tearing my hair out.

1 - Some of the brass nobs appear fixed on their shafts. The ends

of the shafts appear to have been blunted to prevent the knobs from

being removed. Do I have to grind down the tips of the shafts to

remove them or is there an easier way?

2 - The flat pieces seem to do best with a bit of silver polish and

then lots and lots of Brasso and elbow grease. They are gleeming

after this treatment. But what of the knobs with their grooves and

indentations? Is there a way of dipping them to remove the

oxidation and dirt?

3 - And then there are the tiny screws. They need to be polished as

well. Any thoughts or tricks. A Dremel tool with a polishing wheel?

Thanks for any help.

Ken R.

[lee_carmichael2]

Dremel tools are what I have used in the past. Jewelers rouge is necessary generally also. Patience is a real blessing also.

[john_kasaian1]

Kenneth,

 

Beware metal polish---it can migrate under the fitting and rot the would below. Really. Jalapeno juice(the good stuff, not the kind in those jars of mild nacho rings!) does a good job on oxidized metal and you can always eat the peppers with some beer!

[glenn_thoreson]

Tobasco sauce works good on copper. Maybe it would work on brass?

[User_503771]

I wouldn't remove the knobs. I would just unscrew the brackets that hold them to the camera and remove the rods and their knobs.

 

The rods are usually not brass and often have rust. So when removed, you can de-rust as well.

 

Lemon juice (concentrate, off the shelf in the baking or juice department in the supermarket, not refrigerated) and salt mixed together does a nice job of soaking grime off brass. Don't dilute the lemon juice, just use it straight from the bottle.

[wyverndude]

There's any number of brass cleaning chemicals that should prove effective. If you have access to an ultrasonic cleaner, that would be the ideal way to use them.

<P>

Note though, that some chemicals would not be good in an ultrasonic cleaner. If in doubt, seal the parts in a ziplock bag full of the solution, and immerse that in water in the ultrasonic cleaner tank.

<P>Failing that, I'd think you could get pretty good effect with a toothbrush and Brasso. Maybe with an electric toothbrush? Some of the new ones are even ultrasonic!

<P>None of this will work very well if the brass has been laquered. That should become obvious as soon as you get into it though. If there is some kind of varnish or laquer, you'd need to use paint stripper to get that off first.