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Brass-O A Go-Go


oldmatekev

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Yesterday I threw caution to the wind and used a few dabs of Brass-o metal polish on a celluloid Conway Stewart pen.

 

The result was astonishing, in seconds it came up with a deep lustrous sheen, as good as I've seen in studio shots of very expensive restored pens.

 

I know there will be people who'll feel giddy with rage and frustration at my recklessness, but I stand firm, just like the guy who was brave enough to eye-dropper an Al-Star a few weeks ago.

 

If it had melted in my hands I'd feel pretty sheepish, but I'd probably write a cautionary note here about that too.

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Well, I will admit that I would never have dared to use Brasso to shine any of my pens. Now keep us posted as to whether or not the pen body crumbles to pieces in your hands in the next week or two. As an old man said to a little boy who had just urinated on a tree in front of the police station, I salute you for going where very few admit to having gone before. Keep experimenting.

 

-David.

No matter how much you push the envelope, it will still be stationery. -Anon.

A backward poet writes inverse. -Anon.

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*salute*

 

Respect to the brave pioneer! While you risk your collection, it's certain that the FP community at large stands to benefit a lot from your learnings. This reminds me of that one guy who tossed his Lamy 2000 from out of a 2/3 (can't remember) storey building. Brave, but kinda frightening all the same.

 

Do keep us posted, I'm personally quite curious about how this "Brass-O" substance works with FPs.

 

 

Cheers!

Kevin

"The price of an object should not only be what you had to pay for it, but also what you've had to sacrifice in order to obtain it." - <i>The Wisdom of The Internet</i><p class='bbc_center'><center><img src="http://i59.tinypic.com/jr4g43.jpg"/></center>

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No, No! Brasso......much too harsh.

 

Use semi-chrome; finger polish lightly a time or two after masking the markings. Buff with a flannel cloth. A FPN time honored polishing item.

 

There are other more expensive but finer polishes.

Edited by Bo Bo Olson

In reference to P. T. Barnum; to advise for free is foolish, ........busybodies are ill liked by both factions.

 

 

The cheapest lessons are from those who learned expensive lessons. Ignorance is best for learning expensive lessons.

 

 

 

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Screw Brasso.

 

I spent enough time polishing uniform brass with it during my 3 years in the Army in another life that if I NEVER see another can of it, it'll be Too Soon.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

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Keep experimenting.

 

I can't see myself ever stopping.

 

 

Do keep us posted, I'm personally quite curious about how this "Brass-O" substance works with FPs.

 

There's a reason that I tried it, settle in and I'll tell the story.

 

I went to a local swap meet on the weekend on the hunt for elusive 'antiques and collectables'. In my part of the world these events are few and far between so I was overflowing with enthusiasm. I've had some tantalizing morsels of luck in the past.

 

I was disappointed but not surprised to find that it consisted mostly of rusted iron spanners, oil and tobacco tins and worn-out leather cases with broken bits inside. But there was one stall with two fountain pens nestled amongst the junk.

 

Even from a distance they looked like (bleep) but I was in the sumgai zone, willing to buy anything. With trembling hands I picked them up one at a time and fumbled the caps and barrels off. These things were junk when they were new, now they were broken and bent junk but I couldn't leave empty handed. Then I spotted a dirty, crushed cardboard box poking out from beneath a stained rag. Was that Par... I could read?

 

I hastily re-assembled what I had in my hands and lunged at the box. It did say Parker (and it had a flouro green $5 sticker too), but what would be inside....a plum 51? Probably a dented Jotter BP with advertising on it but I had to look.

 

I carefully lifted the damaged lid, glimpsing heavily stained and yellowed satin, and I saw it......what the hell is that?????

 

It was an all metal, cigar shaped, clipless pen. Both cap and barrel were embossed with what looked like fish scales, gold plated but so heavily brassed that it was almost black.

When I lifted it out it was feather-weight, the slip cap came of with nice tension showing a nicely crafted clutch ring and smooth black section ending in a partially hooded small gold nib,I held it up to the light and could see 'Sheaffer's' in very small letters stamped across the nib.

 

I didn't hesitate, I reached straight for my wallet, no-one else was getting this....whatever it was. The stall owner seemed quite surprised that someone was actually buying it, he said he'd had it on sale for years.

That reminded me of the mixed feeling of elation and flatness I had when I found the super flexy Swan self-filler that I passed up buying still in the exact same spot in the shop six months later (I bought it the second time for $15....oh yeah...)

 

When I got it home to have a good look I was intrigued, it didn't take me long to find out that it was a 1960 clipless Lady Sheaffer Skripsert. It was so badly brassed that I thought I would have to sand off all the plating, leaving a cool??? brass bodied pen.

I started rubbing it with the coarsest fingernail buffer and it started to clean up. The effect was kind of interesting, dark heavy speckling over dull gold, kind of steam punk bling.

 

After half an hour of work it wasn't getting much better so I thought I might take it up a notch with some heavy duty polish. My thought was to get a tri-tone effect with exposed brass, remnant plating and dark brassing. Brasso was the answer.

 

Much to my surprise it was extremely gentle, it rubbed the brassing straight off, leaving lightly patina'd shiny gold plate. Very nice indeed.

 

The Sheaffer is now cartridged up and in my daily carry pen case for a while. If it worked so well on gold plate, what about celluloid???????

 

 

 

There are other more expensive but finer polishes.

 

Brasso is certainly inexpensive, at the rate I used it my $10 can will last at least 4 generations.

 

 

if I NEVER see another can of it, it'll be Too Soon.

 

It does have a distinctive smell.

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Screw Brasso.

 

I spent enough time polishing uniform brass with it during my 3 years in the Army in another life that if I NEVER see another can of it, it'll be Too Soon.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

 

Hello Bruce,

 

See how times change, when my dad was in the Army, (WW II and Korea); they used Nevr-Dull. (I still use it today - just not on pens).

 

Best regards,

 

Chris

- He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood abideth in me; and I in him. (JN 6:57)

- "A woman clothed in the sun," (REV 12.1); The Sun Danced at Fatima, Portugal; October 13, 1917.

- Thank you Blessed Mother and St. Jude for Graces and Blessings obtained from Our Lord.

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Brasso is too harsh.....one of the 7 commandments of Fountain Pens....don't use it. Don't use India ink is #1.

In reference to P. T. Barnum; to advise for free is foolish, ........busybodies are ill liked by both factions.

 

 

The cheapest lessons are from those who learned expensive lessons. Ignorance is best for learning expensive lessons.

 

 

 

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I used Brasso on a very dull and scratched P17. It worked very well.

 

I have also used 'Silvo' silver polishing wadding on less scratched & more valuable pens. That worked well too, but took a fair bit more time to polish out equivalent scratches.

 

These days, though, I use foam backed micromesh as there are no solvents at all to risk damaging the plastic.

 

Regards,

 

Richard.

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how would toothpaste be?

Looking for a cap for a Sheaffer Touchdown Sentinel Deluxe Fat version

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I know toothpaste can polish permanent marker off laminex benchtops.

Edited by oldmatekev
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I nearly bought Silvo at the supermarket but it specifically warned not to use it on gold or silver plate.

Strange now that I think of it since my original intention was to remove plating.

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how would toothpaste be?

It is a pretty coarse abrasive. Teeth are very hard so can stand a coarse abrasive. Relatively soft plastic, like polystyrene, is noticeably dulled (scratched) by the size of abrasive particles in toothpaste. Not great...

 

Regards,

 

Richard

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I think I'll let you do the brasso experiments and watch from a safe distance. I used to use Autosol (which is a bit like Simichrome, but without ammonia), but the only thing I've used it on in ages was a badly mistreated rolled silver cap. The results were surprisingly good, but it a nervewracking experience.

 

I recently bought a very inexpensive sample pack of Novus 123 from eBay, to check it out. The coarse 3 did a very good job of an irksome scratch on a Parker 51 I recently bought - a tricky one, right by the imprint. The 2 did alright on the hood microscratches - not 100% perfect. I didn't like the final finish the 1 (plastic clean and shine- antifog,antistatic, dust repellant) gave. It definitely repels dust, but didn't shine as nicely as Greygate plastic polish.

Latest pen related post @ flounders-mindthots.blogspot.com : vintage Pilot Elite Pocket Pen review

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I recently bought a very inexpensive sample pack of Novus 123 from eBay, to check it out. The coarse 3 did a very good job of an irksome scratch on a Parker 51 I recently bought - a tricky one, right by the imprint. The 2 did alright on the hood microscratches - not 100% perfect. I didn't like the final finish the 1 (plastic clean and shine- antifog,antistatic, dust repellant) gave. It definitely repels dust, but didn't shine as nicely as Greygate plastic polish.

 

Hello Flounder,

 

Back when I was into old phones, a popular system for removing scratches and stains was the Novus 1-2-3 System.

 

Best regards,

 

Chris

Edited by LamyOne

- He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood abideth in me; and I in him. (JN 6:57)

- "A woman clothed in the sun," (REV 12.1); The Sun Danced at Fatima, Portugal; October 13, 1917.

- Thank you Blessed Mother and St. Jude for Graces and Blessings obtained from Our Lord.

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my tongue ith bleeding.. old celluloid.. cringe that it's the colorful Dinkie ringtop..

 

B u t! Love sumgai stories, and so logically BRASSO, or whatever, and a lurking, deteriorating fountain pen was found, restored and is in use.

 

Leveled by the fact that the rosegow that I found was handed over to an expert who returned it appearing in all its glory as new. He used Something.. and it hasn't crazed into little pieces yet.

 

ok.. was it you that did the L2K torture test? how many floors did that drop? ; )

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