Brass tarnishing

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Hello all.
Several months ago (about 5 or 6) I made some pens and put some brass inserts in them. I look at them now and the brass is starting to tarnish... it's getting darker.
Is there a way to prevent this from happening?
I know when you buy silverware silver eventually tarnishes and you have to clean it, but you don't go to where you purchased it and claim to the vendor that their silver tarnished, because this is a normal process with silver. Can the same be told about brass? Cleaning a clear wooden pen with some brass cleaning product most surely will ruin the pen.... or not?

Appreciate all comments. Thanks in advance.
 
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Tim'sTurnings

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I don't understand. Clear wood? And you can see the brass through wood? Doesn't make sense to me. I have many pen kits and extra tubes and some of them do tarnish a bit. I just sand them lightly before I glue them up and that takes any tarnish off.
 
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No. I said "I put some brass inserts..." I thought this was clear enough. And I meant clear wood as in "light colored wood". Sorry my English is not perfect and I made a wrong statement.
I'm posting a photo for better clarity
 

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lorbay

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Did you put a finish over the whole pen tube when you did the finishing?? If not that is why the are tarnishing. + if you do put a finish over the brass you cannot have any rsidue on the brass at all before you apply the finish.

Lin.
 

gbpens

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Lin is right on! Brass, like most metals will oxidize when exposed to air. It must be coated with a finish such as lacquer or epoxy after it has been cleaned.
 

PTsideshow

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Another thing that you might have any control over is the alloy of brass that you are using. There are hundreds of stock alloys. The major division is the Alpha Brasses and Beta Brasses. Based on the the amount of copper and zinc in the alloy Alpa's are generally higher in copper content 65% to 95% copper with the remaining % being zinc.
The Beta's are 50% to 60% copper with the remaining being zinc, and in the leaded brasses .5 to 3% lead.
The Beta's generally are what is used for water fittings,and valving. have a higher oxidation tolerance.
Certain of the Alpha's will start to oxidizes as soon as you clean them if not coated.

Most of the brass cleaners either in paste, liquid or in a impregnated batting material form(Brasso) will leave any type of porous material darkened, with the residual chemical and oxidation that is removed. Best to try what ever you will use on some scrap.

You can always do what metal artists have done for centuries. Call it an age patina, and tell them you don't charge extra :wink:

You can always clean it up with a fine abrasive paper then use "Acrylic Clear Nail Polish" over it. Some metal jewelery artists use it to keep their pieces cleaner longer.
:clown:
 

Smitty37

Passed Away Mar 29, 2018
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Milford, Delaware 19963
Hello all.
Several months ago (about 5 or 6) I made some pens and put some brass inserts in them. I look at them now and the brass is starting to tarnish... it's getting darker.
Is there a way to prevent this from happening?
I know when you buy silverware silver eventually tarnishes and you have to clean it, but you don't go to where you purchased it and claim to the vendor that their silver tarnished, because this is a normal process with silver. Can the same be told about brass? Cleaning a clear wooden pen with some brass cleaning product most surely will ruin the pen.... or not?

Appreciate all comments. Thanks in advance.
Brass will tarnish...I don't know of any way to prevent it. It can be cleaned and polished but I don't know if the polish would go well around a pen unless the brass can be isolated.
 

Smitty37

Passed Away Mar 29, 2018
In Memoriam
Joined
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Another thing that you might have any control over is the alloy of brass that you are using. There are hundreds of stock alloys. The major division is the Alpha Brasses and Beta Brasses. Based on the the amount of copper and zinc in the alloy Alpa's are generally higher in copper content 65% to 95% copper with the remaining % being zinc.
The Beta's are 50% to 60% copper with the remaining being zinc, and in the leaded brasses .5 to 3% lead.
The Beta's generally are what is used for water fittings,and valving. have a higher oxidation tolerance.
Certain of the Alpha's will start to oxidizes as soon as you clean them if not coated.

Most of the brass cleaners either in paste, liquid or in a impregnated batting material form(Brasso) will leave any type of porous material darkened, with the residual chemical and oxidation that is removed. Best to try what ever you will use on some scrap.

You can always do what metal artists have done for centuries. Call it an age patina, and tell them you don't charge extra :wink:

You can always clean it up with a fine abrasive paper then use "Acrylic Clear Nail Polish" over it. Some metal jewelery artists use it to keep their pieces cleaner longer.
:clown:
That might be better advice than you think. On ships, we spent a lot of time polishing brass.....
 

leehljp

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I would disassemble the pen and put it on the lathe. Get some 0000 steel wool or start at 4000 MM and sand up to 12000 - just enough to bring the brass to shine without the patina/tarnish. Next, I know you don't want to do this but the only way to keep it clean is to coat it in CA. Unless you are very experienced with this, and can put some fine smooth coats on it - it will be easy to sand through the coating and be back to the original problem.

I haven't had this problem but I have struggled with what to do when I did decide to use certain grades of brass. I have used brass that is more or less tarnish resistant that I purchased in Japan and have not had a problem with that as segment rings. Been doing this for about 6 years now and haven't had any tarnishing on that kind.

PTSideshow gave some good advice. I did not know why mine, so far, has not tarnished. Now I know. And I know what to look for in brass for turning.
 
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