It's been so long since I cleaned and polished a brassie that I need to ask- Is a "gojo" type of product a good start before going to citric acid or vinegar? The first thing this one needs is just a good bath methinks and "gojo" seems to me a good idea, but??? Dish soap instead? Thanks for any help!
When I need to clean dirty and sooty burner parts I normally just scrub with a thin bristled brass wire brush. For more difficult to reach areas I hope this helps.
I have use tomato ketchup and open lemon or lime halves to clean my Sveas. Never Brasso or Duraglit. They have ammonia, which is bad for brass that sees high temperatures.
Thanks all, I tried the gojo and it didn't do much, so straight to vinegar I guess. That and scrubbing.
I use Flitz on any metal parts I want to shine. Works great on boat hardware etc. The MSDS does show it has an ammonia solution, so it may not be safe on the parts that get hot. I don’t know much about that. But, if you want to keep the patina, don’t use it because it produces a mirror finish. It is a very good product for its intended purpose which could or could not be yours.
I cleaned it up enough so that it can be identified as brass. After taking this pic I tested it. :-( It has a leak at the pip, the cap seal, or the seals in the assembly the key operates to raise and lower the internal needle. Given how it was coated in soot, that makes perfect sense I suppose. Had to run for the baking soda. Whew. Something to work on is therapy! :-) Thanks again for the answers and info! I had almost forgotten about the ammonia in Brasso and such products not being appropriate for the brass in our stoves.
Thanks for pointing that out. I’m new here and trying to learn as much as I can. This seems to be a good read on brass cleaning as well. At least on what can happen with the wrong chemicals. Preventing and Treating the Dezincification of Brass – Canadian Conservation Institute (CCI) Notes 9/13 - Canada.ca
