Brightening up Bronze

[wndsnd]

The 1956 Town Class Sailboat 16 1/2 Feet has much original bronze hardware that is green and black with its usual corrosion. I want to brighten it up and have found with brushes and pads it will get pretty nice. My question is how to keep it that way. I thought spraying a lacquer would do it but previous attemps have found that this is best a short term cure.

Thanks
John

[Figment]

Hi, I'm Mike, and I'm a Bronzeaholic. (hi mike)
My last piece of bronze was about two days ago...

John, I sense that you suffer from the same addiction, and that you haven't yet hit rockbottom.

If you visit your boat every day, and spend about an hour of that visit polishing a few bits of bronze, you might have a chance of staying ahead of the oxidation. Few of us have that kind of time on our hands. Accordingly, the following rationale has been developed:


That green-then-brown coating of oxidation is actually a GOOD thing. This natural coating serves to protect the metal beneath from further corrosion. By constantly polishing, you're constantly removing a few microns of material and exposing fresh metal to the elements. A good cleaning every so often, just to keep the gunk buildup from getting shameful, is sufficient. Learn to love the brown. Brown is your friend.Of course, no true bronzeaholic can live like this. The compromise is to pick just one key piece of bronze on the boat that you'll polish regularly and keep bright. The stem fitting is a likely candidate. Perhaps a mooring bit? For me, it's the handle of my engine's gear lever.

Sailing is more fun than polishing anyway.

[ 12-21-2004, 08:17 PM: Message edited by: Figment ]

[Dave Hadfield]

There's a Canadian company which makes a range of paints called Tremclad. Mostly they're anti-rust paints, but they sell a Clear which is for non-ferrous metals, and it works very well. I've got some simple beaten-copper fittings on Drake which I polished and then coated, and they've stayed bright for 3 seasons.

I recommend it.

[JimConlin]

Forget trying to keep any more than a couple of items polished. Life is too short.
Chrome plating, while not inexpensive, holds up pretty well.

[J. Dillon]

Keep on polishing . Consider it therapy. With a little work even the most inexperienced person can get great results. Stand back and admire your work. ;)

Polisholic JD

[mark g]

I agree with Jim, but if bright bronze is a must then first get it bright by buffing then try and find a good clear non yellowing sealer. the key is coating it so well that no air or moisture can leak in or penetrate. This is what causes the natural protective patina. Personally as a professional, if you want bright then chrome plate it. If you want the bronze look then leave alome and let nature do its thing. Better to be sailing than polishing!
mark g

[Gary Bergman]

Green is keen!!.....'Tis a good thing, patina..

[Keith Wilson]

Hey, someone else with a Townie! I have a 1964 copper-fastened one that is currently under a tarp awaiting new sheer planks and deckbeams. As far as keeping the bronze bright, I don't know of anything but regular polishing that will work. If you keep her far away from salt water, it will weather to a nice dark brownish color, but that's not really a option in Amesbury, I suppose.

[Nicholas Carey]

If you're determined to keep your bronze bright, you might consider having the bronze bits powder coated with a transparent powder.

Powder coating is a way of applying a finish by electrostatically depositing acrylic powder on the workpiece, then baking it sufficiently that the acrylic power melts and cures.

That's probably youre best option.

It's tough, hard and UV-stable.

Also expensive.

And…like any other coating/finish it's susceptible to mechanical abrasion. So it's not applicable to something that will see wear, like a winch drum, cleat, chock, etc.

Another option for stuff that doesn't see wear (like for instance, portlight ring), would be to have it gold plated. Very tasty, indeed. Just resist the urge to polish it in any way shape or form.

Outside of that, I'm rather fond of Brasso (http://www.stanleylondon.com/brasso.htm):
<span style="font-family:serif">Shine Your Buttons With Brasso

My fathers a lavatory cleaner
He cleans them by day and by night
And when he comes home in the evening
He's covered all over with&hellip;

Chorus:
Shine your buttons with Brasso
It's only three ha'pence a tin
You can buy it or whip it from Woolworths
But I don't think they've got any in.

And when it came round to Christmas
He gave my ma a great fright
For instead of bringing her chocolates
He brought her a box full of&hellip;

Chorus

Some say that he died of a fever
Some say that he died of a fit
But, I know very well what he died of
He died of the smell of the&hellip;

Chorus

Some say that he's buried in a graveyard
Some say that he's buried in a pit
But, I know very well what he's buried in
He's buried in six foot of&hellip;

Chorus

[werner]

if it does what it says... perhaps ?
http://www.nyalic.com/
regards ,
werner

[Bob Smalser]

http://pic3.picturetrail.com/VOL12/1104763/4639129/58622485.jpg

When I had the chrome removed at the automotive platers, they asked what I was gonna do to keep the bronze from oxidizing...with an eye toward selling me a lacquer job.

Nuthin, says I.

But it'll turn brown and green, says they.

Yup, says I. That way it'll look like the real thing it is instead of some chinzy fake.

[Victor]

To clean bronze - Line the bottom of a plastic pan with tin foil, fill with warm water, and stir in a cup of powdered laundry detergent, set the parts to be cleaned on the foil. I know, it sounds like snake oil, but it works, and no acids to clean up.

[Figment]

Tin foil or aluminum foil?

[Jay Greer]

No clear coating will really save labor. Bronze will slowly turn dark under it. Then, it is a bitch to remove the coating and clean the bronze. I have known some fanatics that gold plated galley faucets and lamps in order to beat the polish problem. It will last and can be done in a home shop with simple equipmment. Check on line for this.
There is one polish that works better than any I have ever used. It takes the hassle out of cleaning brass and copper. I use it on copper pots in the galley.
Trust me on this one and get some: Wrights Copper Cream . They are the same people who make Wrights Silver Cream. The stuff really works like magic! Use the stufff that is a paste in the red topped white platstic jar.

[Hugh M.]

I have read that plating exterior brass and bronze with gold is, in the long run, cheaper than the cost of regular maintenance crews polishing them. Of course this assumes you have a paid staff to work on your boat round the clock! Yeah right!

Obviously gold plated chafe gear such as chocks, cleats, bits won't save you anything.

[alteran]

" I ..... gold plated galley faucets and lamps in order to beat the polish problem. It will last and can be done in a home shop with simple equipmment."

What a fantastic use for an old wedding ring I have laying around. And wouldn't it piss her off to know the ring she paid for many years ago was now gold plating on my boat fixtures.
Do you suppose it would be improper to send her a picture? hehehe