How do you clean one of these things?

[+Hoosier_Daddy]

Awhile back, a local surveyor (who is a friend of mine) sent a crew out to look for a local benchmark. The crew that was sent out discovered that the conrete around the disc had detiorated over the years, and found it laying on the ground next to the bridge support it had been set in. They brought it back for him, and he now has it on display in his office.

 

I thought it would be a nice idea to polish it up for him for Christmas, so I swiped it from his office after he went home today. I would like to have it back in his office for Monday morning. Does anyone know what it would take to clean one of these things up and make it all pretty (or at least prettier...). I don't have a whole lot of power tools or anything, or money for that matter, but I am not afraid of using some elbow grease, or messing with this thing for a number of hours, if necessary.

 

I believe these things are made of bronze, and this one is kind of green, with some corrosion on it. Anybody have any ideas? Is it made of bronze, for sure?

 

I went to Lowe's thinking that they would have something that would do the trick, but they didn't and no one that I spoke with had any ideas what I would need, or even where to start looking. I saw Brasso in the store, but it said nothing about bronze. I also saw CLR, which seemed like it might take the corrosion off, but was afraid it may eat away at the bronze as well. Any thoughts?

 

Here is a picture of the benchmark.

 

 

<<*Scratches head...*

 

Hmm...well, I can't quite figure out how to put a picture in this post. The button on the top of this page seems to require a URL, and this picture is on my hard drive. How do I upload this picture of the benchmark to this post?>>

 

Well, I used imageshack, but the picture comes to me pretty small. If you click on the picture, you can see the fullsize image.

Edited December 16, 2006 by Hoosier_Daddy

[+ZSandmann]

Upload the picture to http://www.imageshack.us

[Dragonmaster13]

It is actually brass and I wouldn't clean it unless your boss actually has asked you to do so, He may want to preserve the weathered look.

[+Hoosier_Daddy]

It is actually brass and I wouldn't clean it unless your boss actually has asked you to do so, He may want to preserve the weathered look.

 

Please don't take this the wrong way, but how do you know? I myself hadn't been able to tell, but the research I did seemed to indicate that most of these Elevation BMs were made of bronze, so that was the assumption I made. Is there some way to know for sure one way or the other?

 

I've spoken with him a number of times about the monument, in passing, and the weathered look isn't what's important to him about it. Others I have spoken to (who know him better) about this idea have all agreed that this is something that he would appreciate, and not the contrary. Thanks for bringing it up, though!

[Dragonmaster13]

It is actually brass and I wouldn't clean it unless your boss actually has asked you to do so, He may want to preserve the weathered look.

 

Please don't take this the wrong way, but how do you know? I myself hadn't been able to tell, but the research I did seemed to indicate that most of these Elevation BMs were made of bronze, so that was the assumption I made. Is there some way to know for sure one way or the other?

 

I've spoken with him a number of times about the monument, in passing, and the weathered look isn't what's important to him about it. Others I have spoken to (who know him better) about this idea have all agreed that this is something that he would appreciate, and not the contrary. Thanks for bringing it up, though!

 

Bronze won't usually rust that much in a "young" cap of this age. Zinc leaches out of brass and causes it to rust quicker (100 years or less). The only way to tell for sure would be to take a small filing of it to a lab, however from my experience yours looks like brass. A mild acid solution is the best way to clean either one of them, and neither brass or bronze cleaner should damage one or the other as they are basically the samemetal, mostly copper. Brass is Copper and Zinc. "Bronze" is Copper and Tin. Just avoid cleaners with ammonia for both, it can have some very adverse affects.

[+Hoosier_Daddy]

It is actually brass and I wouldn't clean it unless your boss actually has asked you to do so, He may want to preserve the weathered look.

 

Please don't take this the wrong way, but how do you know? I myself hadn't been able to tell, but the research I did seemed to indicate that most of these Elevation BMs were made of bronze, so that was the assumption I made. Is there some way to know for sure one way or the other?

 

I've spoken with him a number of times about the monument, in passing, and the weathered look isn't what's important to him about it. Others I have spoken to (who know him better) about this idea have all agreed that this is something that he would appreciate, and not the contrary. Thanks for bringing it up, though!

 

Bronze won't usually rust that much in a "young" cap of this age. Zinc leaches out of brass and causes it to rust quicker (100 years or less). The only way to tell for sure would be to take a small filing of it to a lab, however from my experience yours looks like brass. A mild acid solution is the best way to clean either one of them, and neither brass or bronze cleaner should damage one or the other as they are basically the samemetal, mostly copper. Brass is Copper and Zinc. "Bronze" is Copper and Tin. Just avoid cleaners with ammonia for both, it can have some very adverse affects.

 

A mild acid solution, huh? Is this the kind of thing you can make from common household goods, or do I need to buy a special solution? If so, do you have any suggestions?

[+Black Dog Trackers]

I'd recommend the Brasso. The polishing agents in it will probably work just as well for both brass and bronze.

 

As a person who collects coins and antiques, I can tell you that both coins and antiques are totally ruined by polishing. People who know nothing about metal antiques often ruin them by polishing them. After polishing, they don't look old and therefore have no character. The quality of genuine tarnish that gives coins and especially antiques that artistic 'old' look is referred to as patina. It is of course quite possible that he has no interest in patina. On the other hand he may look sadly at the polished marker and wonder what to say. It's a risk. You don't know which he would like.

 

Polishing the indented lettering will be difficult without using machinery.

 

If you want to get a high polish, use a shop tabletop grinder with the cloth wheel and add a tiny bit of polishing agent and buff it until you see your reflection. I don't know if bronze can be polished as well as brass. Instead of a tabletop grinder, you can sometimes find a cloth polishing wheel attachment for an ordinary electric drill. Who knows, if you get one of those, you might be tempted to go on a general metal-polishing spree!

 

Checking the internet can provide some education on polishing metal objects and products to keep them polished-looking for a long time (but not forever). Here is an example. It recommends different acids for brass and bronze.

Edited December 16, 2006 by Black Dog Trackers

[Bill93]

I recommend soap and water and a brush (non metal bristles). Any motorized polishing is likely to come out uneven because of the raised and indented areas, and thus not improve the look. If it is too corroded for gentle treatment to make it look good, then more aggressive attempts are not likely to improve it.

 

It appears to be an interesting disk, not a run-of-the-mill mark. Do you know if it is in the geocaching or NGS data base? If so, it would be good to log it as destroyed so that other people (professional or amateur) don't waste time looking for it.

[+Hoosier_Daddy]

I recommend soap and water and a brush (non metal bristles). Any motorized polishing is likely to come out uneven because of the raised and indented areas, and thus not improve the look. If it is too corroded for gentle treatment to make it look good, then more aggressive attempts are not likely to improve it.

 

It appears to be an interesting disk, not a run-of-the-mill mark. Do you know if it is in the geocaching or NGS data base? If so, it would be good to log it as destroyed so that other people (professional or amateur) don't waste time looking for it.

 

He too is a geocacher, and logged it destroyed. I already checked that. It is just a NGS elevation benchmark.

 

After careful consideration, I have decided to return it to his office untouched. Thanks to all who tried to help me out, anyway. I am sure that such knowledge will come in useful sometime in the future!

[+TrailGators]

I have no idea how to clean it, but I just wanted to tell you that I really like your caching name!

Hoosier_Daddy! That's really funny!

[+Hoosier_Daddy]

I have no idea how to clean it, but I just wanted to tell you that I really like your caching name!

Hoosier_Daddy! That's really funny!

 

Thanks! I spent some time thinking about it, and found this to be descriptive and humorous at the same time. Kind of a double entendre.