Maybe Bronze wasn't a good idea? LN #4

[george wilson]

When I made the surveyor's compass for David Brinkley,I wanted to lacquer it. To do this,,after polishing the brass,it was necessary to remove ALL of the polish and black crud from the brass. If I did not do this,the lacquer coating would just come loose like a piece of Saran wrap.

I used stoddard solvent to clean the compass's brass parts. I took hours just trying to get the black crud to stop oozing out of the metal. It was just incredible how much black crud came out of the brass. I cleaned that brass and re cleaned it for several hours before the black stuff finally stopped coming out of the brass.

Stoddard solvent is just extra refined paint thinner,and is the same solvent that dry cleaners use to clean your non washable clothes. The furniture conservators and other conservators used it to clean various other items that they worked on.

You are having the same problem that I had: your bronze plane has no telling how much black crud still in the pores of the metal. It will finally come out,but you will really have to keep at it to get it all out of your plane. After you finally get it all out,the plane will stop leaving dark streaks on your wood. Once you do finally get the crud out of your plane,I'd recommend that you do not use metal polish on the bronze again.

Any brass or bronze you ever polish will also have this incredible amount of black stuff in the pores of the metal. The difference is: You will not be sliding your door knocker,or other brass/bronze item over wood. Nor will you be trying to get metal lacquer to stick to it.

[Mel Fulks]

George, most interesting. I don't think I would ever have figured out the polish was that imbeded in the brass. Pretty sure I would have been blaming "lead content".

[george wilson]

Sit down with some ordinary paint thinner. You don't really need it more refined for this job. I guarantee you'll be amazed about how much black will ooze out of the metal,over and over again. Just keep at it. May take a few hours. Don't contaminate your gallon of thinner with the black crud.

[Tony Wilkins]

Got my sole 'somewhat' polished smoothing a white pine doe's foot on my bench. Is wax - renaissance wax for instance - the best way to keep tarnish from reoccurring if I can't use it for a little bit?

[george wilson]

I suppose the wax would be o.k.. For longer term protection of UNHANDLED objects,they use a lacquer in Williamsburg. But,a plane is handled,and the lacquer would soon wear off unevenly,and not look nice.