Polishing Brass Lamps

[Troy Scott]

Folks,

This isn't really a "New Topic", I know....

I'm trying to make my "new to me" CD36 beautiful again. Most of the interior light fixtures are pretty corroded. I removed one of the Aqua Signal brass reading lamps and tried polishing it with Brasso. No luck. I'm guessing the brass is lacquered or otherwise coated and that the corrosion is between the lacquer and the brass. Is this correct? If so, what should I do? Should I remove the lacquer? What kind of lacquer is it? How best to remove it? How should I prepare the metal for recoating? Is there a better coating product now compared to what Aqua Signal used in 1988? Is all this worth it? Should I just replace the fixtures? Can I think of more questions?

[Steve Laume]

I had a short in one of mine so I took it off and disassembled it. After it was in pieces I polished it on a bench mounted buffing wheel. It comes out very shiny and the compound will cut through any coating that may be on there. It is still lots of work and you end up with a shiny 20 YR old fixture. Mine has small stress cracks all around the edge of the shade. I was thinking maybe a turks head around the edge would help keep them from getting bigger. If you do decide to replace your lights I may be interested in your old ones. I have thought about that too but I already have plans for all my boat money this year. One of the reasons I would replace them is for more energy efficient bulbs. I plan to rewire mine so I can "plug" them in at the fixture. It is well worth looking behind the mounting flange as the wires on mine were bare from being spun around all these years, Steve.

[Troy Scott]

Steve,

The wires on the back of mine are fine. In fact, the lamps seem good overall except for the corrosion.

WRT more efficient bulbs, I've bought adapters that plug into the old 1142 style socket and allow you to a modern Halogen bulb.

-Troy

[LoneStar]

Troy,

I have had similar issues during the restoration of various 1911-1915 brass Ford Model T's. If I stumble on a lacquered piece, it takes a lot of rubbing with lacquer thinner to remove the old lacquer, and even a little 0000 steel wool if it is really stubborn.

I always use Mrs. Wright's Brass Polish (and a buffing wheel when possible). The Wright's washes completely off with a little warm water; and leaves none of the residue that Brasso is famous for... The buffing wheel removes all of the tiny surface scratches and gives you a mirror-like finish. On the interior pieces I have recoated after polishing, I have had pretty good luck with Minwax (Indoor/Outdoor) Helmsman Clear Urethane.

Regards,

Mike

[eb1smith]

Troy: My lamps were also corroded as you say. I took one of the lamps apart and boiled the lacquer off. Then I was able to polish it and remove the corrosion. The result was ok at best.

When you can buy new lamps for less than $30.00 each at Defender, I felt it was just better to replace the lamps.

EB Smith
CD-31 s/v Larissa

[oldragbaggers]

We learned this very valuable trick from Frank Luke at Paul Luke stoves. We had purchased a Cabo Rico 38 that had a 30 year old Luke fireplace in it. It was absolutely green and we were having a devil of a time getting anywhere with the usual polishing products. I called Mr. Luke for advice. He told us to clean it first with Lysol toilet bowl cleaner and a brush. We did and you would be amazed. All that corrosion comes right off and gets you down to the place where that Brasso can actually do you some good. We found that the one in the greenish blue bottle works better than the one in the white bottle. We got a 3 pack at Costco and cleaned every piece of old brass in the boat. Just pour it on (its thick) let it sit for a couple of minutes and then go after it with a brush of some kind, old tooth brushes work great. Wear rubber gloves.
Good luck and gleaming brass to you!!!
Becky

[oldragbaggers]

Oh, I forgot to mention.....you can remove that old laquer by boiling the piece in water with some white vinegar in it. That lacquer will boil right off.
Becky

[rtbates]

Becky

Good tip.
Do you have any experience with it's effect on gel coat?

[oldragbaggers]

I really don't know. When I cleaned the porthole frames on the Cabo Rico I laid a towel underneath them to catch the runoff. It didn't seem to have any effect on the surrounding area, but the cabin top had paint on it, not gel coat, so I guess I can't say for sure. I've used it in a lot of situations and not had any problems (it didn't soak into the soapstone on the stove, which I had expected it to).
Becky

[rtbates]

I'll test an invisible spot first!!