About six weeks ago I threw out a question on how to polish brass pieces (most are probably bronze) on a trolley car at Seashore. None of your answers worked including Wenol recommended by Kelley at Strasburg RR. My guess is the salt air here does a super job of oxidation.

Then I asked the shop manager here who is a welder. He knows metals. One word answer -- ammonia. Why? Because it is basic and the oxidation process is acid.

Below are before, during, and after pictures of the seat railings. The middle picture shows the railing before and after soaking in 10% ammonia (janitor strength, not 5% household strength) twice for about five minutes each, scrubbing with a Scotch Brite Pad and wiping with a rag each time. The "after" picture is after polishing with a Scotch Brite wheel and remounting on the car. (See: http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/e ... 5CPWS904gl ).

Note there are more pictures in my "reply" below.

Here are before and after pictures of the brake handle using the same process. The brake handle has a surprising number of dings I might have polished out but it's over 100 years old so I guess dings are OK.

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I have used a belt grinder to smooth brass and bronze, then a commercial buffing wheel with rouge. Then I found the "Sanding Mop." This is a flexible wheel that comes in different grits and I use the 320 grit as it removes tarnish, buffs and smooths for varnish and will not cut into the metal. Not hard on the hands, either.

The Stockroom Supply in Canada (1-877-287-5017) has them in 2 forms: Fluffy and Regular mop. Made for wood sanding, and when used on wood, can be used on sharp corners without loss of detail or sharpness. www.stockroomsupply.com will get you there.

I used Permalac Clearcoat. Found via Google search. The website had the right words. Without any data except that it was expensive, I bought a couple of spray cans and used it. See:

http://www.permalac.com/products.asp