Melissa,
 
Oooh, this is Pandora's Box!  The short answer is that commercial polishes must be able to attack virtually any problem that they encounter.  Therefore, makers put the "kitchen sink" in them to handle everything.  But, your problem may not require everything.  All those extra ingredients may cause problems in the near or long term.
 
Brasso contains ammonia, among other ingredients.  Ammonia can cause stress corrosion cracking of stamped brass.  It is less of a problem for cast or wrought brass.  IF you polished your brass items with Brasso or similar products, then rinsed them thoroughly, usually with water, then with acetone if they do not contain paint, coatings or another component that would be dissolved by the acetone, they are unlikely to have future problems.  This is particularly true if they are not stamped brass.  Conservators generally want to start with the mildest agent and work up to more aggressive options only if necessary.  A slurry of calcium carbonate in water may be a good first attempt, assuming that simple cleaning of dirt is not effective. 
 
Of course, all of this is dependent upon wanting a polished surface in the first place.  This is not a requirement, but a choice.
 
Marc

American Conservation Consortium, Ltd.
     4 Rockville Road
     Broad Brook, CT 06016
     www.conservator.com
     860-386-6058
 
*Collections Preservation Consultation
*Conservation Assessments & Surveys
*Environmental Monitoring & Low-Tech Control
*Moisture Management Solutions
*Collections in Historic Structures
*Collections Care Grant Preparation
*Conservation Treatment of:
     Furniture
     Painted Wood
     Horse-Drawn Vehicles
     Architectural Interiors
     Decorative Objects & Folk Art
 

Marc A. Williams, President
     MS in Art Conservation, Winterthur Museum Program
     Former Chief Wooden Object Conservator, Smithsonian Institution
     Fellow, American Institute for Conservation (AIC)
 
 
----- Original Message -----
From: [log in to unmask] href="mailto:[log in to unmask]">Melissa Jolley
To: [log in to unmask] href="mailto:[log in to unmask]">[log in to unmask]
Sent: Thursday, February 18, 2010 4:21 PM
Subject: [MUSEUM-L] Brass Polish


Are there any acceptable brass polishes for use on artifacts? I have seen the concerns with Brasso, but I haven’t seen many options for what is safe and effective. Has anyone ever tried Hagerty brass polish? 
 

In one of the posts from the list serv, I saw where Brasso can cause damage that may not show up for a few years. There are a some objects in our collection that are known to have been polished with Brasso, is there anything that can be done to prevent or slow corrosion?

 

Thanks,

Melissa Jolley

Curator, Redcliffe Plantation State Historic Site

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