Dusty and tarnished, #426 is in need of a good cleaning and surface preparation if its going to hold paint for the years of busy service I have planed for it.
Scrub-a-dub gently with an old tooth brush, front, back, and in-between. Thoroughly rinse with clean water afterwards. Water and brass are pretty rambunctious together and cause a lot of trouble. So I sent that water packing as soon as possible.I used the wife's blow-drier to dry the model immediately.
Now that the model is clean and tarnish free, we need to get all oil/grease off of it. A fifteen minute soak in White Vinegar will not only do that but also chemically etch the brass, giving it a tooth that will help the paint adhere better. Rinse and dry again. The model can't be handled with bare hands anymore since oils from the skin will prevent the paint sticking. I have actually seen a paint chip in the shape of a finger print on a model once! So wear cotton gloves to handle the model from here on out.
What a difference! Nice bright brass again. But notice it isn't a mirror finish. If it was new brass, a bead blasting would be recommended to etch the surface. So we are now ready for the paint shop. Yes sir! Off to the paint shop!
Dandy
Do you think a Sonicare toothbrush would be overkill?
ReplyDeleteThat scrubbed up very nicely indeed!
ReplyDeleteYou've got mail...... looking forward to catching up at an SCTC event soon.
Cheers,
Bill
I want to remove the factory-applied, clear coat from some of my Suydam HO scale brass model interurban cars for the purpose of solder repair. Some brass parts have become separated due to age or poor soldering by the manufacturers. Most of my Suydams are over 40 years old. Therefore, will the clear coat (applied by the Japanese and Korean makers for protection from tarnish) come off easily (due to age) using your cleaning method explained in #426 Project - Cleaning and Preparing? Did the Pine-Sol do a good job of removing the protective clear coat from your brass model traction car?
ReplyDeleteWell, my cars didn't have that clear coat as you can see by how tarnished they were. But don't fret! Pine-Sol is strong stuff! Though I haven't actually tried using Pine-Sol for removing that protective clear coat, I would be very surprised if it couldn't do the job. You might have to let the cars soak in it overnight if that coating is resistant to it. One thing is for sure, it wont ruin the brass. Give it a try and let me know how that works out.
ReplyDeleteDandy
Thanks for your reply - much appreciated. And I will certainly let you know how it works out.
DeleteLacquer thinner will strip away the clear coat. It will also destroy any plastic parts, so do make sure they're removed before dunking the body shell in the lacquer thinner.
ReplyDeleteLacquer thinner is pretty "hot," and it will flash off the model quickly. Once it's dry, then dunk the model in Pine-sol, followed by the white vinegar treatment for etching.
Thanks for the advice. Though I feel Dan D. Sparks' advice for removing "factory applied" clear coat is a safer bet, I will certainly use the lacquer thinner as a test on my least favorite brass scale model interurbans to see how the brass reacts to it.
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