I am posting the questions below to learn what others in our profession do for brass polishing and coating. In the past when it was time to do some bright work I would clean off the old lacquer and polish the brass on the buffing wheel. After the buffing I would clean with lacquer thinner then spray. As I do not have easy access to a spray booth I used aerosol spray.
The spray I used most of the time was Staybrite but was never completely satisfied with the results. Some times it would peel off soon after application. I did a quick internet search to see what products are out there and it appears Staybrite is no longer available which is fine with me since I want to try another product. During my search I found a site that recommended using a vinegar and water solution to clean the brass after removing the old lacquer and buffing. It is possible I suppose that cleaning the parts with lacquer thinner was not good enough and could be the reason the Staybrite did not hold at times. Another problem I found with Staybrite is the I had a good shine on the brass after buffing but after the Staybrite application it dulled a bit.
What is your method for cleaning and buffing brass?
What spray aerosols do you use? Two of the products I am interested in are Mohawk:
Lacquer for Brass Aerosol - Mohawk Finishing
And Permalac:
PERMALAC - Metal
It appears that Permalac only comes in matte and satin.
There are other aerosols available like Minwax, Krylon, etc. so I would be interested in hearing if anyone has been successful with those products.
I have sent out parts for the bright work but many years ago UPS lost most of the return shipment and the company did not insure the contents. Since then I will not send out bright work that is irreplaceable.
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[Don] [McKechnie,] [RPT]
[Piano Technician]
[
dmckech@ithaca.edu]
[Home 607.277.7112]
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