Been given some nice older chocks. Should I clean them or just use them in
their present greenish black condition?

Best method of cleaning? How long will they stay "pretty"?

Thanks,
Richard

Don't know about cleaning - mild metal polish, eg Brasso?
But to keep clean, you can get lacquer for just that purpose.
A bit like varnish, works well, but can get a bit yellow over time.
You can just polish it off again if you want.

It's available in every supermarket in this part of the world.

Regards,

bookieb

"Richard & Michelle Barnes" wrote in message hlink.net...
Been given some nice older chocks. Should I clean them or just use them in
their present greenish black condition?

Best method of cleaning? How long will they stay "pretty"?

Thanks,
Richard

If it's deck hardware, trying to clean and keep it clean is a losing battle,
IMHO. I do polish my brass bell weekly, and that's what it takes to keep it
clean and shiny.

If you really want to clean really nasty bronze, mix one TB. Citric acid in
one cup of hot water with a couple of drops of dish detergent as a wetting
agent. Mix up however much you need and soak the bronze for an hour or more
if necessary. The outside will turn red... no problem since THIS will polish
off easily. You can find citric acid at pharmacies, or order much more
cheaply online if you need a lot. This is also "sour salt" found in the
kosher section of grocery stores.

Other cleaners: I use 3M's metal polish and restorer on a regular basis to
keep brass/bronze shiny. You can also use ketchup, and lemon wedges dipped
in salt.

"Richard & Michelle Barnes" wrote in message
link.net...
Been given some nice older chocks. Should I clean them or just use them
in
their present greenish black condition?

Best method of cleaning? How long will they stay "pretty"?

Thanks,
Richard

On 19 Jan 2004 05:08:27 -0800, (bookieb) wrote:

Don't know about cleaning - mild metal polish, eg Brasso?
But to keep clean, you can get lacquer for just that purpose.
A bit like varnish, works well, but can get a bit yellow over time.
You can just polish it off again if you want.
If the OP is actually going to use the chocks as, well, chocks, I
expect lacquer would wear off immediately. As for cleaning, there are
many products and homemade remedies. In my opinion, the best product
is 3Ms metal polish. It's available in Worst Marine. I've
occasionally seen it in hardware stores. My observation is that if 3M
bothers to make a product, it's usually about as good as you will
find, but expensive. Other remedies: Brasso, Barkeep's Friend,
toothpaste (yes,toothpaste) and many others. All of them will require
significant elbow grease. How long will the shine last? Not long. I
do recommend the occasional cleaning and polish, though, Some bronze
will pit f you don't take minimal care of it. You should be able to
keep a set of chocks OK looking without too much trouble. Now my boat
has bronze ports, cleats, winches, turnbuckles, hinges, hasps and what
not. Luckily it's a pretty good grade of bronze and doesn't really
ever do the green/black thing.

If you want it really shiny, like brass lamp shiny, the best way to do
it is to polish it to the desired shine, clean it thoroughly with a
soft cloth to get the polish residue and fingerprints off, and coat it
with lacquer. Then, store it in a vacuum at -200 degrees and only
bring it out to admire on alternate February 29s.


__________________________________________________ __________
Glen "Wiley" Wilson usenet1 SPAMNIX at worldwidewiley dot com
To reply, lose the capitals and do the obvious.

Take a look at cpRepeater, my NMEA data integrator, repeater, and
logger at http://www.worldwidewiley.com/

Depends on what you like in appearance.. If your into antique boat gear for
display, the you just want to clean it and preserve the patina. (after all
the patina is where the history is written).

I have a lot of brass, bronze and copper in my home decor.. I never ever
polish it. I would be a big mistake to do so.. Once polished, it looks like
a Pottery Barn knock off.

I place my small and medium size stuff in the dish washer with just the
regular dish washing tablet or soap. What ever is in this type of soap plus
the super hot water does a really good job of leaning without removing the
patina..

Steve
s/v Good Intentions

Thanks for the input. I will try the dishwasher method and just use them as
is. None of that refrigerated February stuff for me. {;-)

The easiest way to clean bronze is to use a fine 3m scouring pad. These can
be bought in disc form. Mounted to an electric drill will blow the oxidation
right off. Yes, this will leave small fine scratches, but these can be
buffed out using conventional polishing compound bars with cotten buffs.
This is very fast. Then use Johnsons hard floor paste wax and polish. This
is important because the wax will displace the residual polish left in the
metal pores preventing induced oxidation from the polish and sealing the
metal will reduce the frequency of further polishing.
Steve

"Richard & Michelle Barnes" wrote in message
link.net...
Been given some nice older chocks. Should I clean them or just use them
in
their present greenish black condition?

Best method of cleaning? How long will they stay "pretty"?

Thanks,
Richard

I use a buffing wheel on the grinder shaft to make brass and bronze
sparkle. It looks great all winter but as soon as the sea water hits
it.......it's greensville.
Dave
"Steve Lusardi" wrote in message
...
The easiest way to clean bronze is to use a fine 3m scouring pad. These
can
be bought in disc form. Mounted to an electric drill will blow the
oxidation
right off. Yes, this will leave small fine scratches, but these can be
buffed out using conventional polishing compound bars with cotten buffs.
This is very fast. Then use Johnsons hard floor paste wax and polish. This
is important because the wax will displace the residual polish left in the
metal pores preventing induced oxidation from the polish and sealing the
metal will reduce the frequency of further polishing.
Steve

"Richard & Michelle Barnes" wrote in message
link.net...
Been given some nice older chocks. Should I clean them or just use
them
in
their present greenish black condition?

Best method of cleaning? How long will they stay "pretty"?

Thanks,
Richard

Man...you all sure like to do it the hard way. just go to your local pool
place...get a gallon jug of Muriatic acid (weak Hydrocloric) and just throw
your bronze in a 1:1 solution of acid and water for about a day. You'll be
amazed.
After that buff and polish if you like...but a wire wheel on a grinder will
work wonders...but my bet is, you'll like it the way it comes out of the
acid.
Oh...By the way...Always pour acid into water...not the other way around...
Hope this helps,
Dave
"Dave W" wrote in message
...
I use a buffing wheel on the grinder shaft to make brass and bronze
sparkle. It looks great all winter but as soon as the sea water hits
it.......it's greensville.
Dave
"Steve Lusardi" wrote in message
...
The easiest way to clean bronze is to use a fine 3m scouring pad. These
can
be bought in disc form. Mounted to an electric drill will blow the
oxidation
right off. Yes, this will leave small fine scratches, but these can be
buffed out using conventional polishing compound bars with cotten buffs.
This is very fast. Then use Johnsons hard floor paste wax and polish.
This
is important because the wax will displace the residual polish left in
the
metal pores preventing induced oxidation from the polish and sealing the
metal will reduce the frequency of further polishing.
Steve

"Richard & Michelle Barnes" wrote in message
link.net...
Been given some nice older chocks. Should I clean them or just use
them
in
their present greenish black condition?

Best method of cleaning? How long will they stay "pretty"?

Thanks,
Richard