# How to remove corrosion from brass models???



## Weasel505 (Sep 7, 2013)

Hi all,

The header sez it: How do you folks remove corrosion and "bad" finishing on a brass loco? In preparation for painting. 

The other weekend I was lucky enough to score a PRR K4 at an on-line auction for a real good, low price. Now I want to paint it. Anybody do this? Remove a crummy finish?

Thanks for any input.

Weasel505


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

Never stripped brass, for cast corrosion I used a wire brush and rubbing compound. For the pits I filled in with a Bondo scratch putty. To strip, easy off oven cleaner.


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## D&J Railroad (Oct 4, 2013)

Usually hot soapy water will clean most crude off the brass. It's not really corrosion like you would find on steel. Don't use abrasives, i.e. steel wool, wire brush or anything else that will scratch the surface.


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## rrgrassi (May 3, 2012)

If it is a greenish color, then it is corrosion. I will use small amounts of Brasso cleaner/polish to remove the corrosion. But that is for the brass that I do not paint, as the polish part does not let paint stick.


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## GN.2-6-8-0 (Jan 10, 2013)

And if you have a brass train that's in good condition always always keep it wrapped in clear plastic,not the sandwich type plastic, a good quality type. And never never put them in the original foam liners without being protected this way,the foam in the box will corrode the brass quickly.
I have a Max Gray 4-6-6-4 Challenger that's over 50 years old and the original foam has long ago rotted away ,keeping it wrapped in a layer of good plastic plus a layer of good bubble wrap has kept it in pretty much pristine condition in its original box.


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## thedoc (Oct 15, 2015)

You could try a pickling solution to clean the metal, it will need to be rinsed in clean water when done, and wear rubber gloves both to protect your fingers and to keep the acids and oils from your skin from getting back onto the metal. 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pickling_(metal)
http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&ke...qmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_15oz2x2rsm_e


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## wvgca (Jan 21, 2013)

if it's green, it's corrosion, and paint won't stick as well as it should ... in general, disassembly is required, not only for clean up, but for painting ...lacquer thinner will remove most of the corrosion and origional clear lacquer finish, a small brass wire brush should remove the rest .... ideally a light soda blasting will lightly etch the surface to provide a good base for primer [if desired] and then paint ...


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## Peter Herron (Jun 30, 2015)

*Some kind of blaster is needed.............*

........to really get all the crud off. I tried a small "air eraser" in a homemade blast cabinet but it was really to small for the job. It works best to remove lettering.

Got an inexpensive cabinet and 2 pails of different size glass beads and have cleaned many locomotive and cars to "as new" condition. It helps if you already own a decent compressor, which I did.

If you don't want to invest in the whole thing, check around as someone in a club, say, has one and should be willing to help you out. I have done a few for others if asked. 

I keep forgetting to take before and after pictures so I can't show you how well it works.

Peter


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

*Near universal cleaner*

Weasel505;

WD-40, followed by alcohol, will remove almost anything, from almost anything else.
No mater which cleaning solution you chose, try it out on a small hidden area first.
That way, if it doesn't work out well, you haven't done any serious harm.

Good luck;

Traction Fan


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## Odyknuck (Dec 31, 2015)

Peter Herron said:


> ........to really get all the crud off. I tried a small "air eraser" in a homemade blast cabinet but it was really to small for the job. It works best to remove lettering.
> 
> Got an inexpensive cabinet and 2 pails of different size glass beads and have cleaned many locomotive and cars to "as new" condition. It helps if you already own a decent compressor, which I did.
> 
> ...


What grit glass bead are you using and at what pressure? I tried to get rust off of a California models round house awhile back and it warped the metal panels. I have a few old Bowsers i would like to restore.


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

*"Mild manerd" metal cleaner*



Weasel505 said:


> Hi all,
> 
> The header sez it: How do you folks remove corrosion and "bad" finishing on a brass loco? In preparation for painting.
> 
> ...


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## ssgt (Jan 8, 2013)

Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc.

I use plastic media or baking soda through a miniature sand blaster to strip/and prep brass for paint(wear breathing and eye protection when blasting).I have used oven cleaner for stripping plastic,it is CAUSTIC so I would not use it for brass.depending on the paint type,I would suggest soaking the shell in mineral spirits or acetone.For stripping paint off of steel I use dot 3 brake fluid.I would not suggest that for a model,you have to wash and degrease after using dot 3( it is an oil/alcohol mix).


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## ssgt (Jan 8, 2013)

Odyknuck said:


> What grit glass bead are you using and at what pressure? I tried to get rust off of a California models round house awhile back and it warped the metal panels. I have a few old Bowsers i would like to restore.



Sand blasting and glass beading both generate heat on the surface causing the project to warp.If you use sand or glass beads you are liable to remove some surface detail.Plastic media. walnut shells ,and baking soda work great.I helped a friend clean up an American Flyer collection.He used plastic media and lower air pressure to clean off surface rust on the tenders,it took the rust and left the original finish.


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## Odyknuck (Dec 31, 2015)

I am thinking that maybe used glass bead may work as it turns in to a less abrasive material. 

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk


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## Peter Herron (Jun 30, 2015)

*Odyknuck, sorry to take so long, but.....*

......it seems there is not exactly one standard (like sandpaper) for blasting adhesives. (Google it and you'll see what I mean). I have 50 lbs of AE which is very fine. It does not remove paint too well but does clean well. Leaves a very smooth and almost shiny surface. The other is 80 grit blasting glass beads from Tractor Supply. It removes anything and leaves a rougher, not shiny finish. Using test brass strips, paint adheres better to the latter. Both look the same after painting so I prefer the rougher. I use the fine to remove lettering and other imperfections but not all the paint. Great to shoot over with new paint. I used my calipers on the to and the AE is 0.100 mm and the 80 is 0.400 mm.

Here is a conversion chart but I'm not sure what it is converting to or from. It's not as simple as knowing 80 sandpaper is very rough and 600 grit is very smooth!

http://www.mediablast.com/sandblasting-glass-bead-conversion-chart

Peter


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