![]() ![]() It is a stripper, not a polish, so if you are looking for a super high gloss finish you will need to follow it up with the polish of your choice be that Flitz, Never Dull or what-have you. Follow the directions and remember to give the piece a thorough rinse with fresh water. Wright's is available in many supermarkets or hardware stores and is nothing fancy, just a remarkably effective stripper. Presuming it is a standard piece of naval bronze (of whatever specific construction) then this is your stuff. Many will tell you that cleaning and polishing bronze is a fool's errand and I wouldn't disagree, but if you really want to clean it up, (and I don't get the sense that you are trying to preserve a 2000 year old bronze amphora or an original bust of Caligua) I will link to the absolutely most effective product for accomplishing that. 1) Made a solution with the following 3:1 ratio: 3 Tablespoons Water (45 mL) 1 Tablespoon Miracle Grow plant food (15mL) 2) Stirred very well until the Miracle Grow dissolved completely. We have had many discussions about cleaning bronze here on the forum, but if your piece is a standard bit of marine hardware, I wouldn't sweat the "patina" too much. If your piece is weakened through time and use is something nobody here can say without more information, but I suspect is has just gone pink from it's acid bath. The sea itself is quite acid and in the end all things yield to it. Your piece is not likely to be weakened by spending a bit of time in vinegar, but do note that "bronze" can fail and weaken with use and exposure depending on alloy and circumstances. ![]() Meli has a good point, don't want to take your piece to Antiques Roadshow only to find out that (e.g.) a $1,000,000 bronze gladiator helmet is now only worth $20,000 because you removed the original patina and washed off the blood stains. One approach is to darken the brass by coating it with a chemical such as liver of sulfur. Vinegar can dull brass if left on the surface for too long or if the brass is scrubbed too hard with vinegar. ![]() Having said that Bronze is a label that covers a lot of territory and some things called bronze may not be and same for brass. Making brass look old can be accomplished in a variety of ways. To make tough stains disappear, combine salts abrasive power, vinegars acid, and all-purpose flour as a thickener. Bronze is not so susceptible to having a constituent alloy selectively leached/electrolyzed out. There is a process that can take place over time where brass fastenings in a wooden boat in salt water become a weak copper sponge when the zinc atoms pack up and move away ( Dezincification: ) That is one reason bronze is used instead of brass for fastenings. The effects of an acid dip are likely to be surface only and will just give a 'patina'. DIY METAL PATINA Brass and Copper Wednesday on mass appeal we are going to show you how to give your metal objects that cool aged look using common household chemicals. ![]()
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