Looking for threads on cleaning corroded metal parts/tailpieces

[MikeEdgerton]

...Now for tarnished brass, my favorite is 'NeverDull'...

The actual name is Nevr-dull, one less e.

[Rob Grant]

FWIW: Mix ten parts of water to one part of molasses in a plastic container. Let it sit for a few days (outside) until it smells a bit like fermenting rum then drop your parts in. Works well (but slowly) on rust and brass corrosion, but watch out for aluminium. When you're all done with the solution it makes a great fertilizer for the garden. It costs virtually nothing and you know it's bloody safe to use. By the way, this process won't work well in really cold conditions. Also, rotting citris fruit in a plastic container with water and a bit of sugar is suppose to produce much the same results. I think, it may be the citric acid in both cases which actually does the job.

[modon]

Sounds like a form of "Navel Jelly" which can be bought at any big-box home center. NJ is great for removing rust from parts, but obviously they must be removed from the instrument. It is toxic and should be used in a ventilated area and with gloves.

Nope. I know navel jelly and its base is something very much like lye. This is another product I ran across at the auto parts store (which by the way also sells naval jelly). Im pretty familiar with whats out there to polish metal being a clockmaker for some 40 years . This stuff is different. All i can say is.... try it! It does an amazing job. I've used it to clean rusty clock parts, like I said, and also to take rust off old tools and clean them up. I keep a small jar at my bench to drop parts into if they're rusty.

[Bill Snyder]

Never mind.

[Mandobart]

Now for tarnished brass, my favorite is 'NeverDull', a cotton batting with some chemical or other.

Man I went through a lot of neverdull and brasso during my time in the USN, polishing brightwork. I sure don't miss it now. I use Mother's on steel and chrome plated parts. Been using it for over 25 years on my bike and it hasn't worn thru the chrome plating yet. Just used it last night on my cast brass Allen tailpiece on my 10-stringer. Worked good. I'm talking about mild vertigris/oxide, not junkyard rust. Don't know how it works on that.

[J.Albert]

Some years ago, I was at Americade (motorcycle rally) in Lake George. In the merchandise area, there was a guy set up at a table selling a concoction he had claimed to develop himself. He did some demonstrations using tarnished metal, and the stuff worked great.

I bought a tube. It's called "Prism Polish". Don't know if they sell tubes any more, but I found it here:
http://www.prismpolish.com/

I used it to clean up some old nickel-plated banjo parts, and it was nothing short of amazing. It's non-toxic, you just grab some with your finger and rub it on the area you're cleaning. Then, take some paper toweling, rub some more, and clean it off. The guy who made it specifically said that you -should- use something fibrous like paper towels, as the fibers assisted in producing the resulting polished surface.

Again, it's not the cheapest stuff out there, but it produced results that were better than I had hoped to achieve, considering the level of oxidation on the parts I was cleaning...