The winch bases on my CD25 are tarnished and have a green color on them. What is the best way to remove this and bring the brass up to original condition? Thanks
MDavis1@cwix.com
Winch bases tarnished
Moderator: Jim Walsh
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D. Stump, Hanalei
Re: Winch bases tarnished
Mike,
My first mate had the same question about the portlights and winches/winch bases on Hanalei. As a matter of fact, she asked the yard manager, Gordon Swift, in New Hampshire before we bought her, what could be done to polish them? His reply was "What, you don't want her to look like she's ever been anywhere?" The green is the natural "rust" of bronze. It can be removed quite easily, but will return within about 3 weeks! I tried it on one of my winch bases last year.
If you really want to do it, remove the winch. Then remove the base. Take what bronze you want to polish away from the boat and apply straight On&Off to it! Let set a moment and rinse it off! Job is done! The On&Off is an acid! So, wear some rubber gloves, and don't try this while the bronze is on the boat, the black gunk will ruin the white gelcoat. Not the acid, but the black color will stain. I don't know of anything that will protect the cleaned product. Well, maybe a Seaman Recruit with lots of polish/wax and mucho time(followed around by a BIG Bosun's Mate with a starter!)! Lacquer's and Varnishes will not do it.
Enjoy the green, it's Salty!!
Dave Stump
Captain Commanding
s/v Hanalei CD-30
My first mate had the same question about the portlights and winches/winch bases on Hanalei. As a matter of fact, she asked the yard manager, Gordon Swift, in New Hampshire before we bought her, what could be done to polish them? His reply was "What, you don't want her to look like she's ever been anywhere?" The green is the natural "rust" of bronze. It can be removed quite easily, but will return within about 3 weeks! I tried it on one of my winch bases last year.
If you really want to do it, remove the winch. Then remove the base. Take what bronze you want to polish away from the boat and apply straight On&Off to it! Let set a moment and rinse it off! Job is done! The On&Off is an acid! So, wear some rubber gloves, and don't try this while the bronze is on the boat, the black gunk will ruin the white gelcoat. Not the acid, but the black color will stain. I don't know of anything that will protect the cleaned product. Well, maybe a Seaman Recruit with lots of polish/wax and mucho time(followed around by a BIG Bosun's Mate with a starter!)! Lacquer's and Varnishes will not do it.
Enjoy the green, it's Salty!!
Dave Stump
Captain Commanding
s/v Hanalei CD-30
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Neil Gordon
Re: Winch bases tarnished
>>Well, maybe a Seaman Recruit ...<<
For the record, when I was in the Navy, we polished brass *every* morning. We used Brasso, mostly... it was bright after we did it, but by late pm and certainly by the following am, it lost the luster and was starting to turn green.
Regards, Neil
s/v LIQUIDITY
Cape Dory 28 #167
neil@nrgordon.com
For the record, when I was in the Navy, we polished brass *every* morning. We used Brasso, mostly... it was bright after we did it, but by late pm and certainly by the following am, it lost the luster and was starting to turn green.
Regards, Neil
s/v LIQUIDITY
Cape Dory 28 #167
neil@nrgordon.com
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Alex Warren
Re: Winch bases tarnished
A quick and easy clean up is to use a mixture of water,lime juice, and salt; the proportions are about 45%,45%, and 10%.This sounds crazy but it works for an initial clean and then you can keep up with Brasso etc.Don't work at it too hard; I found that just soaking paper towels and letting them cover the part for 15mins or so works wonders.