Why is my brass tarnishing?

[Gaius Colletti]

My I let my new brass manica sit for about a week before I looked at it again, the leather had a coat of neatsfoot oil and the brass had a layer of ballistol oil: http://www.ballistoluk.co.uk/acatalog/Pr...Steel.html

But now the once shiny brass has quickly discolored:

[attachment=3907]manicatarnish.jpg[/attachment]


[attachment=3908]manicatarnish2.jpg[/attachment]


[attachment=3909]manicatarnish3.jpg[/attachment]

Does anyone know what could have caused this so suddenly? Neither ballisol or neatsfoot oil have ever harmed any brass of my other equipment. I am under the impression a scotchbrite pad is too rough for brass. What do you think?

EDIT: The "tarished" areas do not at all wipe off with a cloth, even when pressure is applied

[66kbm]

Hi
Obviously accelarated oxidisation...possibly the quality of the brass..ie impurities in it???
Kevin

[PhilusEstilius]

I would say that you should not put oils or even polishes onto brass the best thing is get yourself a couple of scotchbrite pads and rub them together that should make them finner and only ever polish up with those just before any events.

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

Was the brass laquered by any chance?

[caiusbeerquitius]

Was the brass laquered by any chance?

That´s what it looks like...

[Magnus]

Matt....if I recall correctly years and years ago i used balistol on my seggie and it did the same thing. Whike ballistol is steel, wood and leather safe it doesnt seem to like brass. If the brass isnt clear coated, you can use scotchbrite pads but they will scuff the brass. I would get turtle wax rubbing compound. This is a rust-brown coloured paste i use for heavy corriosion that wont scuff the metal. Then i do a round of polishing with autosol or magic blue. That should restore the nice shiny finish. From now on i would avoid balistol.

I have had the best results for a protectant by mixing a bit of vaseline with mineral oil. It wont run off, spreads and protects extremely well.

[Gaius Colletti]

Thanks for the replies, I now seem to recall something about lacquered brass needing to be boiled to properly remove the lacquer? I've thoroughly wiped off the oil, but I'll keep my options open just yet on how to remove the tarnishing

...and here I was thinking brass would be easier to upkeep than steel lol

[Magnus]

Matt, I'm pretty sure it's the way the Balistol reacts with brass...that looks very similar to what happened on my seggie, and I can guarantee it wasn't clear coated.

[Vindex]

I use pure lemon juice to keep copper items bright and shiney in the kitchen. It does tarnish over time, but is easily rectified. All it needs is a soft cloth and NO abrasive pads at all.

May be worth a try before potentially scratching the LS.

[Gaius Colletti]

Moi, so you just rub some lemon juice on a cloth and rub it in? Is there anything you apply afterwards. Brass is primarily copper, so it may just work...

[Vindex]

It is more of a wipe on wipe off method really. Some effort may be required for stubborn tarnish marks but not enough to cause friction adn therefore scratches.

You can use any bottled lemon juice or do it yourself. I don't use anything afterwards as it is a fairly quick process and the copper (which, as you say, is a constituent of brass hence my post) shines up again in no time at all.

As with all things, try on a small area out of sight to see if it works. If the brass has been laminated as others suggest you'll need to be careful there isn't some chemical reaction with the citric acid in the lemon juice!

[Doc]

I use fine steel wool to remove any oxidation. I know it leaves little scratches but Roman armor had these. The idea that Roman armor would have been polished perfectly flat and smooth makes no sense at all. What did they have? Pumice, ash etc. These were abrasive albeit not 80 grit sandpaper.

I even clean my lorica musculata with steel wool and once I have finished, give it a wipe with a cloth. When you wear something that has been polished in this way, it will hardly be visible when you are marching around and the sunlight strikes its surface. Besides, the dings and scratches add realism.

That coating you show looks like some sort of laquer to protect the surface. With a manica, using anything liquid that contains some acidity, that can run and drip without you noticing it, should be used with caution because it can cause irreversible corrosion in areas you cannot see. These Brass cleaners are good but again, you must use caution because if you do not clean it completely, it will eventually damage the surface and possibly make a hole. The action of all these cleaners is to remove the uppermost layer of the metal....like a chemical peel. The lames on the manica where they overlap should take care of any surface oxidation as you use it. The remainder, you could use what I mentioned.

Maybe for this suface junk you have, start out with a single zero steel wool sponge and work your way to the 4 "zeros" (finest). As you progress from the coarse to the fine, the scratches will become minimal.

[katsika]

Here in America, we have a brass polish called "Brasso" which removes tarnish completely with no scratching at all. There are others, such as Wright's Brass Polish, which works just as well. If your brass is lacquered, the polish won't remove that, but will shine up the exposed areas of brass back to new (unless you have marred it with scotchbrite). If this is the case, get some jeweller's rouge and have at it. I would suggest after you polish it, varnish or lacquer it to re-seal it.

[Doc]

Why reseal the surface to prevent oxidation? The whole reason for reconstructions or reenactment is to portray the past. Thinking that scratches, blemishes, dings, and surface oxidation are things that should be removed because the armor should be made to look pretty and perfect is not reality and it detracts from the intended purpose.

If scotchbrite is too harsh, then using the steel wool beginning with a moderate grit should remove that laquer surface and not mangle your manica. Of course try it on a small piece and see if you like the result.


I leave my armor alone and look at it every few weeks to make sure nothing is oxidizing to the point of serious damage. If I see any surface issues, I remove them with the steel wool to prevent problems not aesteics.

When I wear the armor for a parade, I give it a once over with very fine steel wool to remove the surface oxidation and restore the natural luster of the metal but any scratches, dings etc, I leave as they would have as well.

[Draconis]

Acetone shoud remove varnish or lacquer. What about using a damp/wet cloth and pumice powder to remove oxidation? Turtle Wax is supposed to slow down oxidation down at least. I agree that the Romans wouldn't have polished their brass to a fine polish, they would have not had time on the march, between the march and camp duties when camped. Something that popped into my mind would be rubbing with lanolin rich wool to slow oxidation and maybe add some luster. Also water repellent.