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Removing pitting from Brass

Phil_The_Rodent

By Phil_The_Rodent
in Drums & Percussion

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Phil_The_Rodent Newbie

Phil_The_Rodent

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Finally got a few of my snares back. Hadn't seen them for about 5 years.

 

Snares: Tama Rockstar 14x5 Steel (1994), Pearl B-414D (1987), and a Sonor Jungle snare.

 

Rockstar cleaned up fine with just some soap and water. Bit of pitting, but nothing major. Sonor just needs a decent dusting.

 

Just started work on the Pearl. One of the previous owners stripped a LOT of the lug screws. Took several hours to get them all out.

 

Shell's still perfectly in the round, but appears to have a bit of denting around the throw and butt. Solved most of it with a hammer and woodblock -- good enough anyways. Dents are very superficial at this point and won't affect the sound.

 

But the shell itself is in reasonably bad cosmetic condition. I was told this was salt damage from being toured in Florida from the previous owner. I love a nice patina mind you -- but this is not a nice patina. This just looks like black spots on an otherwise highly-polished shell. I actually wouldn't mind a "nice" patina.

 

I've looked online for people who have tried to save their brass shells, and it looks like most of them have failed and painted them. The paint looks okay, mind you, but I'd like to honour the drum.

 

Anyone have any experience?

 

Also, more specific to the 414 models, does anyone know if the throw can be entirely dismantled? The main part looks machined so I don't know if I can get in there for cleaning and regreasing.

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cdawg Newbie

cdawg

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as for the brass, i've not cleaned drums specifically, but other bad brass i've used paint/varnish stripper, then vinegar. anything stubborn, i've been told to boil some vinegar and submerge the piece. keep in mind ventilation is the key, as boiling vinegar is pretty strong. after all of that, toothbrush scrubbin' (with or without toothpaste,) is the call.

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Dendy Jarrett Newbie

Dendy Jarrett

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Rodent: In an inconspicuous place, take some "bar keepers friend" on a micro fiber cloth (wet) and try to see if the pitting comes off. Bar Keepers Friend is a best kept secret for cleaning cymbals (You don't even have to "rub" it in, just having the wet power touch the service removes light oxidation. It is gentle enough that I have used it on the paint of my truck to remove scuffs (without scratching).

 

Try behind the throw-off first just to make sure you are applying the right amount of pressure as to not affect the surface.

 

Hope this helps.

D

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cdawg Newbie

cdawg

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Rodent: In an inconspicuous place, take some "bar keepers friend" on a micro fiber cloth (wet) and try to see if the pitting comes off. Bar Keepers Friend is a best kept secret for cleaning cymbals (You don't even have to "rub" it in, just having the wet power touch the service removes light oxidation. It is gentle enough that I have used it on the paint of my truck to remove scuffs (without scratching).

 

Try behind the throw-off first just to make sure you are applying the right amount of pressure as to not affect the surface.

 

Hope this helps.

D

 

how does that compare to brasso?

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Dendy Jarrett Newbie

Dendy Jarrett

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Brasso is harsh. If you simple use Bar Keepers Friend ... you can place a cymbal in a empty bathtub, and sprinkle it on the wet cymbal and get your hand wet and rub the powder gently around the cymbal for literally a couple of seconds and rinse, and it will be completely sparkling and won't take off or lighten the graphics if you don't apply pressure.

 

I have used it for years on brilliant cymbals (which I keep clean anyway) but the Bar Keepers returns the "brightness" to them instantly.

D

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1001gear Proficient

1001gear

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Progress report:

 

Got the squeeze liquid bottle; couple bucks off the shelf. (forget online it's eggzorbeetint) Slathered some on a hihat-on the stand with a paper towel and let dry while I Googed some other shopping. Rinsed right off and it actually cleaned with no rubbing. Spotty but I'll finish it later. Meanwhile it revealed the stencil of the original logo. ! I now know for sure it's an Avedis Zildjian (formerly) Brilliant. Good stuff Dendy. :thu:

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Phil_The_Rodent Newbie

Phil_The_Rodent

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Progress report:

 

It was a bugger finding the screw replacements, but I eventually found them at a specialty store, so I can refresh all the screws and washers with better quality modern ones. Couldn't find anything called bar keeper's friend (maybe not available in Canada?). I started by rubbing down the whole thing with Acetone.

 

Then I started in with Grocery Store Brass cleaner (Twinkle). It had no effect. Next I tried some automotive BlueMagic brass cleaner. I liked the shine it gave, but it did nothing for the spots. Then I tried Brasso. Brasso, with a lot of elbow grease was working, but I noticed as I was taking out the black spots, that the removed dark areas were being replaced with more platinum scratchy brass -- the smooth yellow brass formed hard ridges around the platinum brass. With some more work, I could expand the ridges. This told me the lacquer was still on.

 

First lesson: simply wiping something with Acetone doesn't remove the lacquer.

 

So, I'm back at it tonight. I picked up some Heritage brand Heavy Body Paint & Varnish Remover and it seems to be doing the job well of removing the old lacquer. The Heritage stuff is a gel, so you don't have to worry about a chemical bath. I coated one side, let it sit for an hour, then scrubbed it under hot running water. Flipped it over, same thing. Doing the first finishing pass now.

 

I expect once the lacquer is removed, I will polish out the spots with Brasso, and then do a finishing pass with BlueMagic before re-assembly.

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Dendy Jarrett Newbie

Dendy Jarrett

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Hey, Guys: On the Bar Keepers Friend ... I use the powder. PROMISE ... it isn't abrasive. Do not do anything other than sprinkle it on and gently wipe with your hands.

 

Phil: If you have pitting that is coming through the plating, it will be difficult to correct this, however ... I watched a video recently of a guy using coke to clean a rear rusty and horribly pitted chrome rear truck bumper. It was pretty amazing the result. However, if you try that, I would do so in an inconspicuous place.

 

Thanks

D

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Phil_The_Rodent Newbie

Phil_The_Rodent

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The "pitting" I think was superficial -- that is, it was pitting in the varnish caused by salt damage and not pitting in the Brass. Once I started lifting the lacquer and the brass underneath became clearer, it doesn't appear that there is any permanent damage.

 

There was a Martha Stewart Youtube video that shows salt air damage to lacquer... http://www.marthastewart.com/911871/...ixtures#911871 The coloration I was seeing is very similar (but much blacker), but if you'd imagine it being not caused by salt air, but droplets of sea-water. Like, totally spattered...

 

The first Yamaha Brass snare (14x8) on this page http://www.pinterest.com/marknew/dru...patina-14-x-8/ looks to have the same issue, only it is described there as a Patina (which it is not) rather than surface damage to the lacquer (which it is).

 

The lacquer is now mostly removed, so I am going to dig in with the Brasso tonight.

 

BTW: there is no plating on my snare... it's solid brass.

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Phil_The_Rodent Newbie

Phil_The_Rodent

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Looked for it -- couldn't find it.

 

Ya, the Pearl B-414D (1987) I guess was the pre-cursor to the Sensitone series introduced in 1994. Very nice drum -- sounds great in all ranges. Pretty heavy and very loud.

 

It was my main for many years. Pretty sure it was the snare I used it on this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rdXdwP_1dQ

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Phil_The_Rodent Newbie

Phil_The_Rodent

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Dunno what to do about all the micro scratches, but the surface is really uniform now, so I'm gonna call it a day. I've never been fond of the garish high-gloss brass, so hopefully it will tarnish quietly. Fairly sure that the micro-scratches are, for the most part, machined as they're far too consistent for hand-work and I was scrubbing with soft materials -- a soft brillo (only for lacquer removal), paper towels (for end-polishing), and the cotton tampons one would use to remove make-up (for spot removal and end-buffing after polish).

 

The surface is quite nice though... cloudier than high-gloss in reflectivity. Regardless of the micro-scratches, it's much nicer cosmetically than it was before.

 

I'll post pictures after re-assembly.

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Dendy Jarrett Newbie

Dendy Jarrett

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BarKeepers Friend is available at most local grocery stores and at Target in the cleaning supplies section. Should run about $2.85 for a lifetime supply. Of course, you'll start cleaning your sink, tub, and all with it. Heck, I even used it to remove oxidation from a quarter panel on a car once- No Scratches.

D

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