DrippinF150 Posted June 21, 2014 Share Posted June 21, 2014 Anybody ever try the metal polish on copper? I'm in the process of restoring a old copper fire extinguisher and was just thinking of another option besides flitz. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 b_pappy Posted June 21, 2014 Share Posted June 21, 2014 Yep, copper, brass, magnesium, CRES, aluminum... all of the above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Chris@Adams Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 Post up some pics when done..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 DaveVY Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 Depending on the level of tarnish/oxidation you may need something more aggressive to do the brute work of removing the top layer. I used metal polish on a copper fire pit bowl - obviously being outdoors and being a fire pit it needed some heavy duty work. Used 0000 steel wool under a drill pad (with some metal polish as a lubricant). Then used a 4" green pad with the metal polish to complete the work. Turned out great (besides trashing the green pad)! Be sure to post up pics of your completed work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Kingsford Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 (edited) To get heavy tarnishing off without spending a ton of money... Use flower, salt and vinegar. It will restore a somewhat dull shine and then polish it with the Metal Polish 1 & 2 from there. You're going to want to use a blue pad with a drill to get the initial shine restored but you're going to want to do it by hand the rest of the way to get into the lettering and crevices. Old fire stuff is all Brass, no copper. Done lots of Extinguishers, Nozzles and Playpipes. I'll take some pics when I get home of some stuff I've done and still working on. I haven't kept much though, usually sell it. Edited June 24, 2014 by Kingsford Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 ScottyBoy Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 I've used Mothers metal polish on the bottom of some copper clad cookware. So I can easily see the Adams metal polishes being able to polish copper as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Kingsford Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 Heres my current work in progress... Before: This is after with just metal polish and not using the vinegar, salt and flower. Not much shine, still a lot of tarnish the vinegar, salt and flower make a paste and get into the deep parts where you cant get with a rag and what not. It also helps speed up the removal process... After vinegar, salt flower and Metal Polish #1. This is the first brass piece I ever did. Needless to say it needs to be touched up but it was terrible before. ArmyAcadia09, GerryC and The Guz 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 694doorbird Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 Looking good sir!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 ScottyBoy Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 Awesome!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Black Bowtie Posted June 27, 2014 Share Posted June 27, 2014 To get heavy tarnishing off without spending a ton of money... Use flower, salt and vinegar. It will restore a somewhat dull shine and then polish it with the Metal Polish 1 & 2 from there. You're going to want to use a blue pad with a drill to get the initial shine restored but you're going to want to do it by hand the rest of the way to get into the lettering and crevices. Old fire stuff is all Brass, no copper. Done lots of Extinguishers, Nozzles and Playpipes. I'll take some pics when I get home of some stuff I've done and still working on. I haven't kept much though, usually sell it. What is the equation of parts of flour, salt and vinegar? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Kingsford Posted June 27, 2014 Share Posted June 27, 2014 What is the equation of parts of flour, salt and vinegar? Basically you have to judge it by eye... The Flower and Vinegar need to be mixed to get a thick paste (you'll want to use gloves to apply it). Once you got the paste mix in some salt.... This is all dependent on how much paste you'll need. More paste requires more salt. A little paste goes a long way though. I use a small bucket/pale like a kid would use at the beach to build a sand castle (about 6" tall, 7" Diameter). Usually mix it about 1/2 - 2/3 full. When you have it all mixed up apply it by hand by rubbing it and covering the surface of the brass. Let it dry on the brass. Hose it off (outside this stuff gets nasty). Dry it. Use Metal Polish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Sizzle Chest Posted June 27, 2014 Share Posted June 27, 2014 Kingford, thanks for that info! Some incredible knowledge here on the forum! For sure! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Kingsford Posted June 27, 2014 Share Posted June 27, 2014 Kingford, thanks for that info! Some incredible knowledge here on the forum! For sure! I've put a lot of time into Metal Polishing Research for Aluminum and Brass... Fire Trucks have way too much Diamond Plate and I have a ton of Antique Brass Firefighting tools I've cleaned up and sold. Ricky Bobby 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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DrippinF150
Anybody ever try the metal polish on copper? I'm in the process of restoring a old copper fire extinguisher and was just thinking of another option besides flitz.
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