What would be the best and easiest way to polish brass? I mean, I wouldnt want to run everywhere across the city just to look for hard to find “tools”. I was wondering if I could easily polish brass with simple stuff. As long as I don’t need to be agile and smart!
“Brasso”.
I still have nightmares of my schooldays, endless hours spent polishing taps (faucets?) and pipes throughout the school…with “Brasso.” It’s the sort of thing one never forgets.
These days it comes in wadding (cotton-wool stuff impregnated with the liquid). None of that in the old days… 
Have you tried searching on the, uh, internet for tips and techniques? There may even be some things you already have in your home that could be used or something that is environmentally friendly (if you are concerned about that).
Give it a shot.
Brasso. Don’t drink it, though.
Thanks for asking. To polish brass, I use an impregnated cotton called Nev-R Dull. You should be able to get it at a well-stocked hardware store.
Me ole salt n’ vinegar recipe ain’t only for dummies. 
Ultra-fine steel wool does the trick beautifully.
I’ll have you know that this post forced me to send my visiting mom to the grocery store for salt and vinegar potato chips. You set a craving in motion!
Well, then.
In addition to our extremely popular Italian Dressing brass polishing formula, we now proudly announce (thanks to Jessie) the SALTANDVINEGARPOTATOCHIPS brass polishing formula. No spills! (Also tightens loose tuning slides.) Needs no refrigeration, perfect for whistlers on the run.
Best wishes,
Jerry
Here it is for the fine sir/madam so he doesn’t have to search around:
Heat a glass or two of vinegar in a pan, bring it to boiling while dissolving kitchen salt in it to saturation. I.e. keep adding salt and stirring until the salt doesn’t seem to dissolve any more. It does take a lot, like half-a-glass of salt.
Watch out, do this soup in a well ventilated kitchen: there’s chlorine evaporating.
Let it cool outside. Pour in a bottle, slowly to leave the salt deposit in the pan. Stopper the bottle for storage.
This liquid is non toxic, use it on a rag to remove stains on brass/copper whitles (I clean my Sindt with it). Wipe dry. If you dislike the faint vinegar smell remaining, wash with soapy water before drying.
If it is imperitive to keep the undisolved crystals out of the solution one could filter it through a paper towel or similar.
Thansk to all! Now, what about an environment friendly technique? Any ideas?
Toothpaste works great: use an old toothbrush. Not that I ever polish my brass whistles, but it does work. Rinse well.
I usually just use a silver cloth, just not the same one I use on my silver flute.
To some it may be chips, but now it’s close to 8 pm, and I want something solid. And, because of that Poodle/Burns thread, I for some reason crave a… haggis.
Fat chance, in Mesquer, Brittany, France…
Now, what I’ll get and you won’t, or not at same price–no, not ragoût–Beaujolais nouveau. Pretty good this year. 
In production, I use Wright’s Brass Polish. It is water soluble, which Brasso is not, and any residue from the job rinses right off.
Depending on how much brass you have to polish, you may be better off with one of the cloths that Jessie suggests. They work well, too.
I’m not thrilled with the action of acetic acid (vinegar) and salt on brass. Unless you get ALL of it off, and neutralize it with a baking soda rinse just in case, you’ll likely wind up with some corrosion very shortly after use.
Toothpaste is varying in abrasion levels. Your “polish” might well wind up being a “satin finish”. Same for steel wool. Even 00000 can scratch your whistle’s finish. And it, too, can cause corrosion by the action of minute bits of it in conjunction with the brass, plus sweat (acid) from your fingers. That makes a tiny battery.
If you want a “satin finish”, then 500 or 600 grit silicon carbide abrasive paper makes a very pretty one, when used in a creative way, making swirls, etc.
Cheers!
serpent
Brasso wors for much more than just Brass… It is amazing stuff really. I think there was some thread a while back that mentioned a book that described numerous uses for brasso. If not, there is bound to be information on the web.
Oh well…
Flutemaker Terry McGee (I play one of his instruments), claims that Brasso has worked to restore any scratched CD he’s had problems with. You can see his webpage about restoring CDs with Brasso at:
http://www.mcgee-flutes.com/scratches.html
So there’s at least one other use . . .
Having a bit of experience with polishing the brass buckles on military gear, I did try Brasso first. It leaves a nasty, smelly, black residue down in anything deep, that only comes off by dissolving it with stinky mineral spirits, then getting them off with a good detergent scrubbing.
It might be great for fixing CDs, and polishing brass buckles on your marching gear, but whistles, or anything I’m going to put in my mouth? I don’t think so.
serpent
Argh! Darn those cravings… Note: craving to be wary of: Tomato stuff craving. Very odd. Drank a V8 Tomato/Veggie Juice this afternoon, not enough. The only other tomatoish thing in the house was a can of tomato paste (ingrediants:tomatoes). Ate it by the spoonful, tasted wonderful to this pregnant soul and seemed like a good idea at the time. 
Well, now I know, never again. Can you say heartburn? Blech!
As for the polishing bit, the only thing I’ve tried is Mr. Metal. It works well enough, and though it’s not smelly or overly harsh, I don’t think it would fall cleanly into the “enviornmentally friendly” catagory by any means.
Sara