How do you care for your brass whistles?

Wilsing · Post by **Wilsing** » Tue Aug 22, 2006 10:56 am

I am a bit curious as to how others care for their brass whistles. Do you

just let them acquire a patina, or do you keep them polished with Brasso

or something else? I would appreciate any thoughts/comments on this.

Also, does anyone use any steel wool or another buffing agent on their

whistles? Thanks for your imput.

-James

A Stor Mo Chroi

straycat82 · Post by **straycat82** » Tue Aug 22, 2006 11:08 am

I like a whistle that shows how much I've loved it (see below

) I do use a polishing cloth to keep it from looking (or being) dirty though.

King Friday · Post by **King Friday** » Tue Aug 22, 2006 11:24 am

Let 'em turn green.

slowair · Post by **slowair** » Tue Aug 22, 2006 1:06 pm

I'm like a crow in that I like shiny things. My brass whistles especially.

I do two things.

1. There is a Chiffer that uses the handle zub...something or other. I'm not even sure he is around anymore. He turned us all on to a potion for cleaning brass that was all natural and did not leave any chemical smell or taste like Brasso can. Brasso is what I use to use.
Anyway, do a search because I can not remember the exact formula. It consisted of vinegar and salt. You boiled the vinegar and slowly added salt. Caution: this apparently produces a toxic fume while boiling so do it in a WELL ventilated room.
The concoction works beautifully. You just swab it on and the tarnish just disappears. Then just rinse in water and dry.

2. If I want my whistles to absolutely glow, I use the above potion and then do a light polish using #0000 steel wool. Just make sure to rinse out the inside. Steel slivers in your mouth are not fun.

Hope that helps.
Mike

Tommy · Post by **Tommy** » Tue Aug 22, 2006 1:10 pm

Toothpaste will shine brass.

PhilO · Post by **PhilO** » Tue Aug 22, 2006 3:32 pm

I usually just let 'em go for a long time and if I feel like it, then one day suddenly wipe 'em down with 0000 (ultra fine) steel wool and finish with a jeweler's cloth. I have found this to work very well and easily with no down sides. Be warned, however, that care should be taken with aluminum whistles (depending on the finish). I sold a wonderful whistle to a C&Fer and thinking I was being nice, I polished it down for him and inadvertently removed some of its interesting steely grey finish, which both of us agreed was a "bad" thing.

Philo

dfernandez77 · Post by **dfernandez77** » Tue Aug 22, 2006 5:25 pm

I let mine get a patina. If they get sticky feeling I rub them with a Jeweler's cloth - but just enough to remove the sticky.