Hi All Lots of folks out there have asked me how I get the shine on my old brassies, so I thought I'd let you see how I do it & how simple it is to get them sparkling. Please note I'm not teaching anyone to suck eggs here, it's just what I do However before starting cleaning, I fully service the stove & make sure it's working properly. It's better to find problems here rather than having to undo all the hard work you've done polishing I use four stages ... First, wash with hot soapy water to get the grease / oil & crap off. Second, citric acid strip. Third, buff up with stitched cotton mops on a converted grinder/ buffing wheel using polishing soap. ( with Heath Robinson extraction ) Finally, a quick finish with Autosol to remove the awkward bits of polishing soap left in the crevices & to give a final lustre. Here's the pics After a good scrub I apply a gel made with wallpaper paste & citric acid (like thickish yogurt with 2/4 teaspoons of citric per pint - you'll find what works for you with experience) Use warm water to make this up as it is more effective. Then using a very fine wire wool I give it a good going over, getting in to all the hard to reach areas but being careful not to do any damage to the script embossed on the fount. Don't leave it on too long or it will go pink & this means that metal is being eaten away oops Then comes the buffing wheel. Wipe a little soap onto the wheel while it's spinning. Do this as necessary, PLEASE BE CAREFULL as any fast moving parts can be dangerous - ALWAYS WEAR EYE PROTECTION & GLOVES as eyes are not easy to replace & hands can be burned by heat caused by the friction of polishing. Parts can snag flying all over the place so keep a firm hold. Things you polish will get hot Polishing also causes crap, dust & plenty of fluff/lint which gets in your eyes, nose etc. so use vacuum cleaner extraction to minimise this Finally some results 8) 8) & when all the hard work is done, you hopefully get left with this 8) Thanks for looking & if it's helped anybody then it's been worthwhile exercise Best regards, Stu.
Hi Stu very nice explanation i polish mine with electric grind stone with one side converted to a buffing wheel i have three mops for each stage of the polish with three grades of soap. The dust extractor of yours is a brilliant idea as my work bench is covered in dust at the moment as i have just finished a veritas one pint stove shortly to be added
That looks realy great! I've got to admit that the final shine is my favorite part of a fettle. I'm going to give the vacuum thing a try. It seems that buffing is one the fastest ways to get absolutely filthy I can think of. When machine buffing anything, is important to not remove too much metal. Got to watch out on corners of tanks and edges. It doesn't take much round off an edge or thin the brass on a corner. Rick
Stu, thanks for the tutorial. Have to admit I have the polishing wheel and soap but still have to attempt a "real" polish with it. Most of my stoves have been on polishing liquid and rags and hand power. Will give that a try. Ron
I too have a grinder converted to a polisher. The extractor is a great idea - just need to source a good vac from a car booter.
Call me old-fashioned but I started out 50+ years ago polishing my "brass" - belt buckle, cap badge and buttons - by hand and never got past that. Perhaps it's a Zen thing. Me, a piece of old cotton sheet, pillowcase, or what have you, and a tin of Brasso. When extra effort is required Brasso on a piece of "shirt" cardboard will cut the crud or smooth the rough nicely. Soft flannel polishing cloth and a stiff bristle brush for the nooks and crannies brings out the gleam. Takes a while but that's the Zen thing.
I admire all you 'Moppies' for your dedication, the stoves certainly look sparkling! However I prefer to leave 70+ years of love and use on a stove, conserve, preserve and get it running 'in the raw'. I have a long-loved Primus #96 from the early 1920s. The windshield is a cut and punched condensed milk can! I look at this stove and think of the owner all that time ago who needed his stove so much but didn't have 9d(3p today in 'funny money') to replace the lost one. I keep it like this as a piece of social history. Aaah I can smell the paraffin now!
Stu, when speaking of soap, do you refer to abrasive polishing paste? (The rust colored stuff?) This is a super tutorial, too bad most of my stoves are not the polishing type! Many thanks, Chef BC/Harold
I've seen that happen on handguns when they've been sent out for rebluing, and the owner goes through the roof when the corners are rounded and the markings get smeared!!! Murph
Hi all Not all of my stoves get polished as i love an aged patina just as well Here's my Burmos. It has the most fantastic green gold patina. The only stoves that I polish are the ones that come to me looking like death warmed up or have been polished before. Best regards, Stu. PS, Chef BC, the brown soap is very harsh so I use pink & blue only, the pink is for stainless steel but does wonders on brass & does not spoil the embossing if you're careful
Stu, it would still look better shiny and would drool over it. Have to put that on my wishlist. Is that a 1 pinter? Ron
Hi Ron I think its a 1 & 1/2 pinter but could be a 2 pinter similar to the Primus / Optimus discus stoves. I'm not sure but I just love it the way it is All the best, Stu
Same here. Generally only stoves that have been badly gunked up or needed soldering that I polish up & usually it's just the once. Sad but I often will polish a pile of used parts from scappers - kind of therapeutic!
I have polished some but most of my darlings are in 'as found' or 'slightly cleaned' condition. Mainly because when using them, they get dirty anyway (cheap excuse to cover my lazy *ss ). It is my intention to make a zaptank in the near future and then restore a small selection of stoves and boxes to pristine condition. Sadly, these will then mainly be 'show pieces', not users. Most of the fun (for me) is to watch them burn anyway. 8) And I feel I don't use them often enough... And still to many years before I can retire and really enjoy my little darlings . Regards all, Wim
Hey Stu, Thanks for the presentation. May I learn how you follow the same procedure if the stove has fixed legs???
Dead right, Stu. Couldn't better your explanation for when to draw the line on the old spit (wallpaper paste 'n citric acid) and polish. Patina, you certainly know when you've got it and you're never going to get it back in a lifetime if you rub it back to brass ... Fuel can and Svea #40 Perfect tutorial Stu and spot on with your Health and Safety caution. Even with experience it's so-ooo easy to have a 'doh!' moment and present an 'edge' or projection on the work to the buffing wheel and get the thing grabbed out of your hand and and chucked at the wall - or you, if you're really unlucky. John
I de-solder them and solder them back on afterwards, speaking for myself. That's what had happened here with my Primus 107 fettle Primus 107 with no legs, part-fettle John
G,,day. A lot of old things can look better left as is. A bit like some people getting a face lift - it might work for some, but for others it looks a lot worse. Think first, kerry
