John: Anything you do to brass and copper will strip the metal away. The point is to do it very infrequently. In my spare moments, I work with the Fire Museum of Maryland, which has a large collection of brass and copper on its fire apparatus. My husband, the curator, has always preferred NevrDull (which you can buy at the hardware store). It is a treated wadding material that doesn't require water to apply or remove, and you buff it with a cloth (especially important when climbing on a piece of apparatus!) He used to use something called Met-All, which is no longer made. However, we've found something called Top Brite, which is made in Vermont or New Hampshire, which is pretty much the same formula as Met-All. None of the conservators we work with have squawked at what we are using, but then this is industrial stuff, not fine decorative arts materials. You might also try the B&O Railroad Museum (their web page is borail.org), although their educator, Matt White periodically responds to Museum-L stuff, or something like the Pennsylvania Railroad Museum is Strasburg (they have a web site, but I couldn't get the address quickly). Melissa Heaver Director-Museum Collections National Trust for Historic Preservation Washington, DC 20036 202-588-6148 202-588-6232 (f) [log in to unmask] ______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________ Subject: Brass and copper Author: Museum discussion list <[log in to unmask]> at internet Date: 6/30/98 10:03 AM I am looking for good guidance in preserving brass and copper on 1800s steam locomotives. I am worried because the brass is in excellent condition and I don't want to damage it. Current procedure uses an industrial cleaner, but I wonder if it is stripping the brass away. Thank you John Hunter Curator Kennesaw Civil War Museum "Home of the General" _____________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866]