I still have a little bit of Brasso in the can that I bought over 50 years ago in Army basic training. I still use it to polish HO gauge lost wax cast headlight reflectors to a mirror finish for model steam locos.

Now this I can comment on and know I have plenty of experience :)

Once you have any heavy corrosion and crud off, the least damaging thing I've ever used on any kind of metal is baking soda. I thought the person who told me that was nuts, but it honestly does work as well as, or better than, most polishes. It's harder than most crud but softer than most metal, so it doesn't dull most polished surfaces, and it's mildly alkaline, so it neutralizes acid from skin. For doorknobs, valve handles and such, a barely damp rag and a faint dusting of soda will remove ordinary discoloration without the need to rinse or declare your rag trash can a hazmat site. If you just wipe lightly with it, it won't ruin that beautiful patina that well-handed brass gets--it'll just get the goo off.

For really delicate items that are greasy or otherwise damaged, dusting with soda, letting it soak up as much as it can, then dusting it off will remove a lot of grunge. Dampening the pad of your thumb, picking up just a thumbprint worth of soda, them going over a stain lightly will lift a lot of crud, even out of old soft paint (try it on a piece of junk first, to see how it works and figure out that you don't really need to press hard.)

Thanks R.M,
I did give them a good polish when I first repaired the damaged ones and after polishing off any residue, they were clear coated to help protect them. We are not after showroom finish as it would show up too much with the age and wear of the rest of the interior.

An old method of polishing brass is to take half a lemon, sprinkle it with salt, and use it as a scouring pad. I was told about this by a former CPR employee who used the method at work, a long time ago. I've only tried it once, on lightly tarnished brass, and it worked quite well.

Much easier on the metal than the highly abrasive Brasso!

Steve Hunter

Interesting.. thanks steve.. wouldnt the salt have an effect though if not washed off??

After polishing, I buffed the surface with a dry rag, more to remove lemon juice than anything. I didn't find any corrosion developing afterward, other than the usual tarnish appearing in time.

I'm not a chemist, but I don't believe salt would affect the brass (yes to surrounding steel parts) and the lemon shouldn't be acidic enough to cause any residual effect.

Steve

All good tips.. appreciate the help.