Back in my young and foolish days I did a very silly thing and sprayed laquer on my brass bits hoping it would act like the laquer that brass-instrument makers use for trumpets etc. Only thing, it all peeled and chipped off within a few months. So I polished it all off again, but now my brass work is very tarnished and blotchy. What’s a good thing to do to restore it to its former, pre-‘laquer tragedy’ state which will also preserve the sheen for at least while?
Cheers,
DavidG
Hi, I think you must put the brass parts in pieces (if it possible) and polish it with a machine and polish paste (not brasso or similar) I mean a more accurate product. Every polish results better with the machine speed.
You can use any metal polish. There is one called “Duraglit” which works well. But brass will tarninsh relatively quickly: probably within a couple of weeks the bright sheen will be gone again just from exposure to the atmosphere, and handling.
I prefer the look of dull brass. At least that’s my motivation for not polishing the pipes every fortnight.
Remove old laquer carefully . Use fine (800, 1200) sandpaper to take deep scracthes away from metal parts.Protect wooden parts with tape etc. Finally polishing( if you dont have machine), glue soft leather or" heavy wool" sheet(sorry not know now the englishword for it) etc
on the flat wooden /plactic stick and Use metal polishing paste or godlsmiths polishing paste (white dialux good for brass)) on it , crossing movements with
stick first, and at last with soft piece of cotton fabric.
You can’t avoid oxcidacing with brass by time, but small amount of carwax etc. keeps it shiny a bit longer. Be carefull with wooden parts.
Good luck
Mikko
Don’t touch it. I firmly believe that the older and dirtier pipes look the more credibility the piper has. It looks like he’s been through hell and back and managed to keep his pipes intact. That way, if you play a duff note at a session, you can say “Well, that’s the Sean Nos way of playing it”. Not only will every other player believe you, but next time round, they’ll probably play the same duff note. (Lesson 47 of Session Etiquette - always defer to the most senior musician).
I also believe that pipes are attractive when they develop a patina. But if you are playing for a wedding, or other formal occasion, I think that showing up with a worn looking set is not much better than wearing your best chinos, Converse red high-tops, and a Ramones concert t-shirt to the same function. Unless you laquer the brass, it will resume the original “I’ve been on the road since Harrington was a lad” look in the matter of a few weeks.
Or, I could be wrong 
…whooooops! 
…uh…I better update my performance wardrobe!!! 
A damp rag rubbed in cigarette ash spruces up brass nicely without going too far and making it bright as new.
if you can get the set looking like it’s over 100 years old, there is an attractiveness that can’t be matched…and imainly do weddings and play in a tux.
actually, i’m trying to figure out how to get my brass to tarnish quicker, because it makes the engravings stand out more.
i like the look of tarnished brass, or polished nickel-silver…
The best paste polish I’ve found is a German product called Happich Simichrome Polish. It was designed originally for tool and die molds but I found out about it from my jeweler. It works well for tarnish removal and gives a high polish with less effort than Brasso. It leaves a protective film that retards tarnishing. k
I’ve had great success with this stuff. It leaves a protective coating on the metal too which is nice.
It won’t get into the deep tarnish unless you make a buffer with it for your bench grinder.
Patrick.
Thanks for the advice everyone. My pipes do have that ‘antique’ look, but for wedding and such, it would be nice to shine them up a bit, and Brasso just doesn’t seem to cut it.
Cheers,
DavidG
I use Nev-R-Dull on my NSP’s. I just pinch off a piece and wipe down the brass (keys included) and then buff w/ a cotton cloth. Virtually no fuss and it doesn’t leave any of that “flaky white stuff” in crevices…etc.
Well, I’m not a piper but a fluter. I keep the brass rings on my flutes looking like new by using a Goddard’s Silver Polishing Cloth.
I can give them a rub without having to remove them (fank gawd, the rings aren’t sposed to come off), and the cloth doesn’t damage the surrounding woodwork.
Also, the cloth is apparently impregnated with some sort of tarnish retardant, so it takes months for the shine to fade. Also works brilliantly on brass whistles.
Goddard’s also do a brass and copper polishing cloth, but I haven’t been able to find one locally. Besides, the silver one works a treat.
Ditos on that stuff (NeverDull).
I used it in the navy to shine the brass & it sure works well on my set.
rich
There are lots of metal polishes made for cars that will clean off just about anything. I use one called AutoSol, but there’s lots of others. This stuff is NOT good for wood. I used to try to mask off the wooden parts, but have found that its just as easy, and no more time, to just remove the metal bits, shine 'em up, and put them back on.
djm
In a pinch you can use white tooth paste(Pepsodent [sp?]). Just a tiny bit on a paper towel and you’ll be amazed how much black muck it removes. It’ll leave’m minty fresh too. After that, just give them a going over with a jewelers rouge cloth every two or three weeks.
Marc