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Other Vintage Household Electrical or Electromechanical Items For discussions about other vintage (over 25 years old) electrical and electromechanical household items. See the sticky thread for details. |
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9th Jul 2019, 4:46 pm | #1 |
Pentode
Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: Herefordshire, UK.
Posts: 232
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Brasso for cleaning vintage plug pins, safe?
Hello there,
I was just wondering if anyone on the forum has tried brasso to clean grubby and tarnished pins on vintage plugs, as I am considering it because I would think that it would shine the pins better than just using tomato sauce, if anyone has tried this, please let me know the result. Tom |
9th Jul 2019, 5:02 pm | #2 |
Dekatron
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Greater Manchester, UK.
Posts: 18,675
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Re: Brasso for cleaning vintage plug pins, safe?
Is tomato sauce better than brown sauce, and does it have to be Heinz
Brasso ought to be good, it's for cleaning brass, but is your preference the liquid or the wadding, the stuff that used to be called Duraglit? I use Silvo wadding on Bakelite radio and telephone cases. I wonder what the difference is between Silvo & Brasso?
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9th Jul 2019, 5:11 pm | #3 |
Pentode
Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: Herefordshire, UK.
Posts: 232
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Re: Brasso for cleaning vintage plug pins, safe?
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9th Jul 2019, 5:26 pm | #4 |
Octode
Join Date: Feb 2018
Location: Southampton, Hampshire, UK.
Posts: 1,049
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Re: Brasso for cleaning vintage plug pins, safe?
If very grubby, I might start with a good wash with lukewarm water followed by either Brasso with cotton wool or T Cut. Sometimes I use an ultrasonic cleaner with the plug disassembled in some lukewarm water with Fairy liquid. A couple of minutes in the cleaner usually does the trick.
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9th Jul 2019, 5:44 pm | #5 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Brentwood, Essex, UK.
Posts: 5,316
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Re: Brasso for cleaning vintage plug pins, safe?
I use the rotary wire brush that I fitted to my bench grinder.
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9th Jul 2019, 9:51 pm | #6 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Staffordshire Moorlands, UK.
Posts: 5,263
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Re: Brasso for cleaning vintage plug pins, safe?
I've never heard of tomato sauce being used in any electrical scenario, won't it make the plug a bit sticky?
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Kevin |
10th Jul 2019, 8:53 am | #7 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Leominster, Herefordshire, UK.
Posts: 16,526
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Re: Brasso for cleaning vintage plug pins, safe?
For the pins, any mechanical means of removing tarnish will be fine- Scotchbrite type pan scourer is fairly gentle but within reason you can be as rough as you like. As for polishing (why?), anything that doesn't leave a deposit will be OK.
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11th Jul 2019, 3:49 pm | #8 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Near Leeds, West Yorkshire, UK
Posts: 4,609
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Re: Brasso for cleaning vintage plug pins, safe?
Dont do this at home, but we have brass drawer handles on a dresser.
These are probably a century old, and a pal cleaned the handles in nitric acid for a few seconds; this cleaned them but they started to go black, so another wash in chromic acid made them like new; this was done decades ago and they are still bright. Personally, I wouldn't polish plug pins. Coca-Cola is good for cleaning brass - I believe some folk actually drink it!
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Mike. |
11th Jul 2019, 4:03 pm | #9 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Rugeley, Staffordshire, UK.
Posts: 8,809
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Re: Brasso for cleaning vintage plug pins, safe?
I use abrasive rubber blocks where access is not a problem. Otherwise Brasso liquid or wadding, or Solvol Autosol. If the tarnish is not bad, then spray on switch cleaner. The latter will probably ensure a good electrical contact where the previous ones will also look shiny albeit more difficult to achieve.
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13th Jul 2019, 11:08 am | #10 |
Heptode
Join Date: Jun 2017
Location: Southport, Merseyside, UK.
Posts: 646
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Re: Brasso for cleaning vintage plug pins, safe?
It is the acetic acid in sauces etc which is a weak acid and slowly dissolves a very small amount of metal / oxide.It is safe to use.
I use the distilled white variety of vinegar, the quite cheap Tesco basics stuff. Add a very small drop of detergent. May used in conjuction with scotchbrite for the more resistant items.
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13th Jul 2019, 11:57 am | #11 |
Heptode
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Tonbridge, Kent, UK.
Posts: 685
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Re: Brasso for cleaning vintage plug pins, safe?
'The Repair Shop' clock man uses some magic wonder fluid from the clock repair world which makes brass bits come up like new without scrubbing.
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13th Jul 2019, 12:21 pm | #12 |
Octode
Join Date: Jul 2017
Location: Newcastle Upon Tyne, Tyne & Wear, UK.
Posts: 1,177
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Re: Brasso for cleaning vintage plug pins, safe?
A rotary tool along with wire brush and polishing wheel attachments will get things looking brand new. A selection of polishing compounds will also come in handy.
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14th Jul 2019, 7:34 am | #13 |
Hexode
Join Date: Apr 2017
Location: Buderim, Queensland, Australia.
Posts: 428
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Re: Brasso for cleaning vintage plug pins, safe?
Hi Tom
My personal experience is that old formula Brasso is excellent for cleaning brass 1/4 inch telephone plugs. Clean residue off with metho. Here's my can of 1960s Brasso for memory lane walkers. We used a lot of this. We went metric in 1966 in Australia. |
14th Jul 2019, 1:17 pm | #14 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Near Leeds, West Yorkshire, UK
Posts: 4,609
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Re: Brasso for cleaning vintage plug pins, safe?
Horolene or similar (QV).
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