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Old 9th Jul 2019, 4:46 pm   #1
Tom williams
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Default 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.

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Old 9th Jul 2019, 5:02 pm   #2
Graham G3ZVT
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Default 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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Old 9th Jul 2019, 5:11 pm   #3
Tom williams
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Default Re: Brasso for cleaning vintage plug pins, safe?

Quote:
Originally Posted by rambo1152 View Post
Is tomato sauce better than brown sauce, and does it have to be Heinz
It can be any brand.

Quote:
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?
Liquid preferably
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Old 9th Jul 2019, 5:26 pm   #4
Jolly 7
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Default 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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Old 9th Jul 2019, 5:44 pm   #5
emeritus
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Default 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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Old 9th Jul 2019, 9:51 pm   #6
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Default 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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Old 10th Jul 2019, 8:53 am   #7
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Default 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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Old 11th Jul 2019, 3:49 pm   #8
Mike Phelan
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Default 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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Old 11th Jul 2019, 4:03 pm   #9
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Default 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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Old 13th Jul 2019, 11:08 am   #10
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Default 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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Old 13th Jul 2019, 11:57 am   #11
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Default 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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Old 13th Jul 2019, 12:21 pm   #12
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Default 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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Old 14th Jul 2019, 7:34 am   #13
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Default 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.
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Old 14th Jul 2019, 1:17 pm   #14
Mike Phelan
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Default Re: Brasso for cleaning vintage plug pins, safe?

Quote:
Originally Posted by ex seismic View Post
'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.
Horolene or similar (QV).
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