Beginners Guide on How to Polish Brass to a Mirror Finish
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- Опубликовано: 24 июн 2018
- Welcome to my channel, Matt's Metalworking. Please don't forget to hit that LIKE button and SUBSCRIBE for future videos. My name is Matt and I produce metalworking relating videos which can include fabrication, machining, milling, turning, welding, tool tutorials, etc.
In this video I will be showing you a beginner’s guide on how to polish brass with a mirror finish by hand. I’m just using a piece of raw brass, so you can see it’s quite rough and it’ll definitely be more work intensive than compared to a machined piece or something that is already finished just needing to be refinished.
Amazon links for various products used in the video for both USA and Canada:
USA
Scotch Brite maroon scuffing pad (400 grit): amzn.to/2O62hwd
Scotch Brite green scuffing pad (600 grit): amzn.to/2MGpgxJ
Scotch Brite white scuffing pad (1200-1500 grit): amzn.to/2YM0cI9
600 grit sandpaper: amzn.to/3t020uP
1000 grit sandpaper: amzn.to/2YkJzmq
1500 grit sandpaper: amzn.to/3qTem61
2000 grit sandpaper: amzn.to/3iWGzWX
Metal polish: amzn.to/3tytqIH
Canada
Scotch Brite maroon scuffing pad (400 grit): amzn.to/3pW1ZGl
Scotch Brite green scuffing pad (600 grit): amzn.to/2MEQowT
Scotch Brite white scuffing pad (1200-1500 grit): amzn.to/3tvlAPL
600 grit sandpaper: amzn.to/2YhR9OJ
1000 grit sandpaper: amzn.to/36e2fZs
1500 grit sandpaper: amzn.to/3cfSJZx
2000 grit sandpaper: amzn.to/3pot4BF
Metal polish: amzn.to/3aACPGZ
Wash the piece to remove any contaminants which may cause damage during the contamination process.
Depending on the surface, this will depend on what grit of sandpaper is required. I am starting with 600 grit sandpaper, this needs to be a wet/dry compatible paper. The sandpaper needs to be pre-soaked. I have a bucket of water beside me, if you wish you can mix in soap to help with lubrication.
For heavier surface damage, a lower the grit is required. However when you go to a lower grit, this also means more material will be removed, and as you increase to a higher grit, slightly more work is required to remove those heavier grit scratches. When starting out with that first grit of sandpaper, most of those surface imperfections should be removed. Rinse off the surface to remove any access sanding material and always keep the sand paper well lubricated.
Moving up to 1000 grit wet/dry sandpaper. The reason I am wet sanding is so that the dust is kept down and we can achieve a finer finish. The black backing pad I have keeps even pressure on the surface with minimal distortion as what you may find when only using your fingers.
After a couple minutes of sanding, you’ll noticed the sanding marks are much finer and we can now move onto 1500 grit. Rinse excessive material build up and make sure the sandpaper is well lubricated. Compared to other metals I have polished in the past, I do find brass tends to be a little sticky when moving up to finer grits.
Now 2000 grit sandpaper. After this you can take it to another step using 3000 grit, but for this I am finishing with 2000 grit. The finer grits allows you to achieve a higher shine with more clarity.
For an addition example using an abrasive pad. Just like sandpaper, these too are available in various grits and is typically distinguishable by the color of pad. The maroon pad is listed at about 320 to 400 grit. These can be used with water as well which I am doing here. These pads are great for irregular shaped objects, but they don’t necessarily remove surface imperfections. Instead they smoothen or round off those imperfections. Sandpaper with a backer on the other hand can promote more of a smooth surface.
Moving up to a finer grit, this pad is green and rated at about 600 grit. Always keep the area well lubricated and rinse away excessive material. I’ll be stopping here to demonstrate what happens when you don’t use a fine enough grit before moving onto a polishing compound.
Now moving onto the polishing stage. You can use a polishing compound such as what is used on automative paint or a metal or alloy specific polish. Here I am using an aluminum wheel polish. Work the polish into the surface, apply more polish when needed, and wipe away if the old polish gets too excessive. The polish will turn black which is perfectly normal as it’s removing a very light amount of material.
Once the surface is almost finished, finish up with a light amount of polish and a soft cloth.
This concludes the rest of my video, be sure to hit that thumbs up button, it’s a huge help to me and leave a comment below if you found this tutorial helpful or would like to share your brass polishing tips. And if you’re not a subscriber, be sure to hit that subscribe button. Thank you for watching. 
Хобби
Amazon links for various products used in the video for both USA and Canada:
USA
Scotch Brite maroon scuffing pad (400 grit): amzn.to/2O62hwd
Scotch Brite green scuffing pad (600 grit): amzn.to/2MGpgxJ
Scotch Brite white scuffing pad (1200-1500 grit): amzn.to/2YM0cI9
600 grit sandpaper: amzn.to/3t020uP
1000 grit sandpaper: amzn.to/2YkJzmq
1500 grit sandpaper: amzn.to/3qTem61
2000 grit sandpaper: amzn.to/3iWGzWX
Metal polish: amzn.to/3tytqIH
Canada
Scotch Brite maroon scuffing pad (400 grit): amzn.to/3pW1ZGl
Scotch Brite green scuffing pad (600 grit): amzn.to/2MEQowT
Scotch Brite white scuffing pad (1200-1500 grit): amzn.to/3tvlAPL
600 grit sandpaper: amzn.to/2YhR9OJ
1000 grit sandpaper: amzn.to/36e2fZs
1500 grit sandpaper: amzn.to/3cfSJZx
2000 grit sandpaper: amzn.to/3pot4BF
Metal polish: amzn.to/3aACPGZ
Great video. Detailed yet short and to the point. Great speech and explanation, too.
Thanks for the information.
Just came here as my mother has asked me to polish her fireplace which is brass. This is awesome!!! Thanks so much :)
No problem, happy I could help!
Hey Matt - thank you for taking the time and effort to product this excellent, easy to understand and follow, video tutorial on the proper way to bring brass to a polish finish.
You're very welcome and thank you so much for the kind words!
Fantastic! This is exactly what I was looking for thank you! Great use of the tags for this video! This is literally the first video I saw and clicked, it's also all the information I was curious to know!
Awesome to hear and thank you so much!
Very helpful and clear demo of brass polishing. Helpful to me for a small woodworking project that has brass fittings. Thanks!
Thank you!
a really nice clear and easy to follow guide for newbies.
Brilliant video, thank you very much! Great delivery and concise detail 👌
Thank you for your feedback :)
This was very helpful to me, as I am a beginner yo this craft. Thank you.
Really excellent video and information on polishing metal, this helps a lot!
Thank you -
Thank you for the feedback :)
Many thanks for an excellent tutorial without a lot of chatter that has nothing to do with the purpose of the project. It's refreshing!
I love brass!!!
That was super helpful and well illustrated, thank you!
Thank you for the feedback :)
Incredibly, incredibly helpful!
Glad it was helpful and thank you for the feedback!
Thanks for the info & demo!
No problem, happy to help!
Very well done. Explained very simply. Thanks
You are welcome!
You sound like an airplane pilot giving directions before the takeoff dont take offense to it it's pretty cool that's all I'm saying they probably hire you to pre-record all the directions
Haha, thank you :)
God damn it now that's all I can hear haha
Yes
This was my first though when the video started
Rude😊
Thank you sir. This was awesome!
Thank you :)
Hi Matt,
Useful. Clear. Thank you so much.
I work with watch cases. Often in steel.
I tend to use diamond paste for a high polish.
Best wishes from Singapore
Super helpful! Thanks!
No problem and thank you for the feedback :)
great video, very useful and clear. I'm using your tips on some jewelry! thank you!
Happy I could help and thank you so much for the feedback :)
Great tutorial! If you haven't already done so, consider making a tutorial on using Dremel tools, orbital polishers and other power tools for larger areas, and/or for detail work on more intricate pieces.
Thank you :) I'll definitely look into it. I have a bench polisher packed away that I need to setup too so it would be great to use that.
That was great. Cheers for the tips
Thank you!
Great video - very helpful!
Thank you!
Subbed and liked! Looks amazing!
im studying metal art and design and this video is super helpful!!!
thank you for the video its helping a frustrated student😂😂
No problem, always happy to help and thank you for the feedback!
Great tutorial!
Thank you :)
very helpful! thanks for the video...the voice control was perfectfor tutorials....not distracting..and easy to pick up on all the directions....i am debating on cleaning up the patina saltwater adn grime on the brass on the boat.....a LOT of work i see..but...since we sanding the bright work...we nipped intot he brass and small snippets of it are now shiny..making it all need to look shiny...
Thank you so much for the feedback! It's definitely worth the hard work, perhaps using a polishing pad on a rotary tool would save a bit of time.
Thank you!
Best polishing vid!
Thank you so much!
Well... that saved me a lot of time. I would rather just do it without experimenting. So thanks. Yep, I like the no-nonsense "pilot" directions for takeoff too.
No problem and thank you for the feedback!
That is so nice to watch.
Thank you!
Thankyou very informative!
My pleasure!
Great video…. Thank you
Thank you, much appreciated!
Awesome - instructional -
Thank you, I really appreciate the feedback!
Awesome I can't believe the results I'm getting on a piece of furniture doing this process I'd like to try on my cymbals
Thank you and excellent to hear!
That's why I here.. Zildjian Cymbals have 'the name' on 'em..who knew?
Finally I can clean them, I just searched sandpaper on brass and here I Am.. Alohas
Dude, thanks much, very helpful!
No problem!
Super helpful man!. Got some brass scales for my my knife that came stonewashed. I'd like to see the same finish that came with my old Buck on the brass. Thanks!
No problem, always happy to help!
Excellent video. This assisted me a great deal. THANK YOU!!!
Awesome to hear and thank you for the feedback :)
Please show us how to make Tools particularly the "Special tools" used in many automobiles .It will be a great HELP . Hope you see this. ❤️❤️❤️❤️ From Kerala ,India.
nice looked easy enough.. i have used valve laping compound for a nice finish on aluminum and steel after working through the sand paper grits. a finer compound behind it would of course yield a better result . but i was happy and it replaced the 1000-2000 grit
Great tip, thank you for sharing!
Awesome video bro
Thank you :)
Perfect, shared it with a buddy building a musket.
Awesome to hear, thank you!
Thank You!!!
You're welcome!
Was very claer and helpful
Thank you!
Bar Keeper's Friend is some amazing stuff for polishing brass.
Thanks for the tip, I'll have to check it out!
@@MattsMetalworking make sure you neutralize anything you use it on after, with a thick baking soda & water mixture, then rinse
actually just soak and rinse in water, baking soda is a bad idea (lesson learned) lol
Soap helps massively! I polished my wife's 20 years old stainless steel pots and pans. Better than new! Only problem is I can see my ugly mug! LMAO 🤣🤣🤣. But I'm glad I saw this as I have antique Indian made oxidized brass vase! Looks like a genie bottle. Thanks for tutorial! Cheers from Australia just subbed.nice work love it 🙂👍👍👍
May I ask…..what type of soap and at what stage do you use it? Thanks
Good one i used just my finger rubbing Brasso once until my finger prints were gone the scrubbing would been easier☝️
Awesome video! I really enjoyed it. Probably better than mine.
Thank you :)
@@MattsMetalworking No problem. Loved your video
Well lubricated
Awesome video!
I literally said "wow!" out loud at the mirror finish.
Now I am just a humble housewife (Escape rooms Games Master part time) & I am polishing up some pure brass kitchen pots I have which look really scummy. Here in the UK was use Brasso polish, which I have been using, but its dirty, messy & VERY hard work!
My question is: Can I use your method (sanding & abrasion) on my kitchen pots, to get this shine? I ask because I understand my pots surfaces may have been treated with things during manufacture, & I don't want to ruin them.
Anyway thanks for the superb video!
Thanks for the great tutorial. Very helpful .
Glad it was helpful and thank you for the feedback!
Great
Thank you!
Thank you so much!!
I can save an antique I ruined 😭😄🤩🤩🤩🤩
Happy to help!
Loved the vid! Do you know if polished brass tarnishes, and if so, how can I prevent it? Also, even if it does develop a patina, is there any way I can remove the tarnish without harming the brass or removing the polish?
Thank you! It's eventually tarnish, the polish doesn't really provide a layer of protection, all it does is remove fine scratches giving that mirror finish. For protection, a wax can be used or even a nano type coating such as what is used on a vehicle's paint. Another option would be applying a clear coat.
Great video. thank you.
Will it work also for copper ?
Thank you and yes it will.
Excellent video. I just tried cleaning my old brass bolt with a sand paper & it cleaned really well. I would like to know the difference in cleaning with sandpaper versus with vinegar + salt + flour mixture.
And also isn't this cleaning with sand paper same as polishing. Or do I need to use brasso or something to polish after using sand paper
Thank you. Sandpaper will remove material and smoothen out the surface. Depending on the grit will affect the clarity of the polished finish. The vinegar mixture on the other hand, while I haven't used it before, I would assume it does help remove some oxidation and brighten up the surface. For the best results, you're best using an abrasive like sandpaper or a pad, finish up with a very fine grit and then move onto a polishing specific paste. Similar type of idea to wet sanding paint. First is removing the imperfections and orange peal, then finishing up with compounds for that clarity.
I'm looking for a rotary brush I can chuck into a power drill that will remove moderately heavy corrosion without chewing up so much metal that I make a lot of work for myself. Do you have any recommendations?
This is a great video, thank you! I’m about to have a floor tiled with marble tile and want a brass liner inset - unfortunately to buy pre-polished strips it’s easily $100+ each for 6’, I found a company who sells brass bars but they are unfinished. To polish 30’ linear by had would take a long time - is there any machinery you would recommend to avoid doing thirds by hand?
Yes you can certainly use a machine polisher, perhaps a rotary or orbital polisher such as what is used for a vehicle's paint. There are also various pads available which have different polishing ratings. Unfortunately I haven't experimented with the different pads, so I can't provide any advice with that.
I'm your 1000th like. Do I win the bar?
Many thanks for informative video. Vandals have scratched a circular brass viewpoint indicator with engraved lettering and I wonder if you have information on how to remove deep scratches without damaging the lettering - probably done with a stone . Thanks if you can help please.
Happy I could help! Sorry to hear about the vandalism. Unfortunately the only way to remove the deep scratches is removing more material to make it smooth, so excessive sanding. That would remove the engraving as well and the only option for that would be having the engraving redone.
@@MattsMetalworking Thanks for reply. It's a large (just over 2 ft diameter) circular viewpoint indicator at the top of a local landmark hill and has hundreds of place names engraved with the distances from here and heights of hills that all radiate out from the centre so it's very fiddly to try to avoid the engravings. Any tips for sanding very narrow areas in between the lettering please?
Sir! Can you tell me is there any machine which is used for remove spots, internal lines from brass pieces before chroom plating instead of emery/sand paper, without the use of sand paper is there any machine to clean our piece ?
Any thoughts on brasso? Thanks
What Finish Grid would be enough for a tool that cuts stuff, like Foam outcuts ?
Would be 600 Drit Enough without Polishing?
You did that mah, man.
🖖 👍 Awesome
Nice Job! Can you tell me the best Brass sealer or protection cost? I’m making these 1” square brass puzzles. I polished 1 with sandpaper pads all the way to 12k grit. Mirror finish, but how can I protect it? I work with 2K Urethane Clear Coat often, curious if you think it might stick? Thanks!!
☯️ZenModeling
Can you do a tutorial on a complicated brass model? Like a statue?
Hello, I have a broze statue at my home and I've cleaned it thoroughly and i don't think it needs and sandpaper scrubbing either. I wanna ask you if you could suggest any specific kind of polish that can be applied on it to give the mirror glaze as shown in the video
Please don’t clean bronze, it’s more value with age patina.
I have a brass mech mod that I used a Dremel buffing wheel on with mother's mag. Some of it it mirrored and some of it is cloudy looking. Any recommendations?
Sounds like the surface could be stained. You could try wet sanding the surface and then re-polishing.
I just used an angle grinder with brown polish paste then blue and boom mirror finish
Most people want to polish household items such as a tarnished brass lamp. How do I determine if it has been lacquered and do I treat it differently if it has been? Do I use the finest grit sandpaper straight away? Any recommendations or tips for do it yourself spray lacquer after the piece has been polished?
You can try a small amount of polish on a test area. If the shine of the brass improves and the polish turns a dark color, then it doesn't have lacquer. If it's lacquered, you'll need to strip the coating before polishing then.
If the brass is fitted to laquered wood, as in an army pacestick, would the Mother's Polish damage the wood in any way?
Do you happen to know which brass composition is best for polishing to a mirror finish?
All brasses or alloys in general can achieve a mirror finish with the proper polishing methods. Depending on it's application, may vary what type of brass composition is best for your application. Some will have a higher tensile strength, others are more resistant against corrosion, etc.
Hello! It is a very good video. Could you please clarify a doubt? I have a similar piece than yours but it’s like “mounted” over wood. It would be the same procedure? Or does these procedure you share is for a solid piece of brass mirror finished?
Thanks a lot!
Thank you! Yes it would be the same procedure.
@@MattsMetalworking another question, I did the procedure with blue magic polish and also with mothers, the finish is very clean and mirror, but the piece lost color, I mean, before I cleaned it, it was more yellow, after y applied the polish it ended much less yellow. In the video I saw that your piece ends with a very gold color. How can I return that color to my piece? Any advice? Thanks a lot!
I'm doing this with a few hinges from my brother, which this asswipe "accidentally" attacked with 80 grit sandpaper. It's getting good, mirror finish, but it's really hard to really get the scratches out of there, due to the circular motions I need to make on a very small surface. Any tips here are welcome. The finishing, I do with a Dremel tool.
You would have to start with something more coarse to cut down those 80 grit scratches efficiently, then work your way up to the fined grit before using a polish. So perhaps 320 would be a better choice, then 400, 600, and up from there.
I have a pair of old brass lamp from the 60's. They were my parents. I polished them up and the shiny gold turned to gray. I had used a magnet before I started cleaning it up, and it did not stick. Why is the gold coming off if it is brass? I didn't know who to go to, and thought I would ask you since you seem to be very knowledgeable.
Hello. Do you know the composition of this brass you've used in this video. There are other videos where the brass doesn't have this yellowish gold colour. Most look like matte yellow even after polishing. Thanks
Unfortunately I'm not sure about the composition, however regardless of the composition, a mirror finish should still be achievable.
Could you use the sandpaper on fire poles
Yes you can, start would with a finer grit first or even have a small area for a test run.
Can the same procedure be done with steel? And if so how do I prevent rust from forming druing the process?
Yes you can use the same procedure, but unfortunately it can be hard to prevent rust. There are various coatings available such as a nano or ceramic coating used in auto detailing that does lasts anywhere from 1 year to 5 years depending on the product. However it's not fully protected from moisture, so I'm not sure how long it'll last for. You can also use a clear coat, but you may have bonding issues due to the highly polished surface and no adhesive base.
How do you keep the brass shiny so you have to keep on polishing it again? Any type of sealer?
I just asked this same question??? Help with how to Protect the Brass Mirror finish please….
hey there. have a question. i make art from ammo cartridges. i have a vibratory tumbler and ive been told to use steel media to get to a mirror finish for burnishing. i need to achieve as near a mirror finish as possible. nutshel does not get close to it. any ideas on what i should add to the steel media in order to get the finish i need? should i use water too? thanks for any incite. subscribed.
Thank you for the support! Unfortunately I haven't used a tumbler before, but this certainly looks like it answers your question www.arrowantennas.com/video/24.html
White diamond polish is my go-to for polishing metal. It has the purple jewelers rouge that is suspended in the mix and protects afterward.
How would you polish a curved brass belt buckle to get our some scratches?
An abrasive pad such as Scotch Brite would be the best option.
Does it make sense to clean grime and tarnish from old brass stuff with a brass brissled brush on a rotary machine? Or are these scratches irreparable?
Too much of a risk causing surface damage.
I have a plaque that was a mock up of a front page of a newspaper (lots of small less than readable print) what do I do
Soda blasting maybe an option if you're not looking for a mirror shine, it will however clean up the surface removing any oxidation and you'll be left with a uniform finish.
I have a lot of brass cleaning to do. Is it possible to buy a scuffer pad to attach to a 5" orbital sander?
Yes you can buy scuffing and polishing pad attachments for a drill or other types of rotary tools. Keep it mind, it can get messy as a rotary tool will throw around polish.
I have a bunch of vintage lamps from the early 50's I wanted to polish, but im un sure if sandpaper and brushes will actually leave behind permanent scratches. I know the lamps brass frames are clear coated Lacquer over the brass. Ive just used simple bar Keepers friend with paper towels and buffing cloths which work okay.. but def not 100%
Depends on how course the brush is or what grit sandpaper is used will affect how easy those scratches are to polish out. You'll need to remove the clear coat first and then you can probably go over the lamps with an abrasive pad like scotch brite (each color has a grit rating), start with something like 600 grit or higher depending on how bad the oxidization or surface damage is.
Do you know how this raw brass holds up over time. I have an old trumpet I'm considering stripping the lacquer from (where it still exists) and polishing but am worried about corrosion and oxidation.
It may discolor from exposure to oil from someone's skin or moisture in the air. It wouldn't be much different than compared to a brass lamp. Will this be used or just for decoration? If it's not being used, then you can apply a nano coating, similar to what is used in auto detailing. I used a nano coating for my aluminum wheels which had polished lips and it held up great.
@@MattsMetalworking planning to actually use it. I'm trying to decide between just leaving it as is with chipped lacquer and corrosion, and either stripping it and leaving the raw brass or attempting to re lacquer it but I've heard its difficult to lacquer an instrument and get decent results.
Would you recommend the abrasive pad to use on a antique fire extinguisher ?
That would probably be the best option, but be very careful with antiques. Sometimes cleaning/refinishing them can damage the value.
@@MattsMetalworking yea I can understand that. Thanks for answering my question
Would the same process work on bronze as well?
Yes you can.
Would this process work for removing print off of brass?
Yes it would.
When I polish with compound and my cloth turns black, is that dirt? Should I keep polishing until I don't get any or little black on my cloth?
That is perfectly normal. It's a small amount of material being removed with the polish.
the brass weight on my keyboard will like this
lol watching this vid for the same reason,how do you seal it after polishing?
Great video! Thanks. Is there any protection i can apply on a mirror finished brass? I'm afraid lacquer will kill the mirror finish..
Thank you! You can try a 2k clear coat, but make sure the surface is 100% clean. Another option is using a nano coating such as what is used on vehicle paint. That wouldn't be as permanent as clear coat, but it can last a few years.
I know it’s an old video but what if I need to hand polish a bell?
You can use power tools instead for larger items. So an orbital polisher with pads is a great choice.
Do you use hot or cold water?
Doesn't matter.
How do I do soda blasting
You'll need to buy soda blasting equipment and have access to an air compressor. Unfortunately I do not have any videos on the procedure.
Which cream is that's
Mother's Aluminum Wheel Polish
Can you spray polyurethane on it after?
You can, but there maybe peeling issues.