getting spots off brass (paint, cleaner, cleaning, light)

[Angorlee]

I find brasso won't get some spots off brass. I used 1000 grade sandpaper and it left scratches. Any way to get those little green spots off?

[elnina]

Create your own brass polish. This is a ridiculously easy process. First, find a lemon. Great. Now cut it in half, dig out the seeds and squeeze all the juice out of it and into a bowl. Next, find yourself some table salt or baking soda. Doesn't matter which; either will work fine. Slowly stir the salt or soda into the lemon juice until a paste consistency is reached. Now that you have your brass cleaner, use a soft cotton cloth to apply it to the brass. Using the same rag, going with the grain of the metal, work it gently into the brass to remove tarnish. Salt and soda act as a light abrasive, so don't push too hard. If you're really concerned, or the item is brass plated, just go with the lemon juice and skip the salt/soda. Use a soft-bristled toothbrush to clean the crevices. Rinse.
Using a new and totally dry cotton towel, or better yet, a microfiber cloth, buff your brass 'til it shines all purdy-like.
Protect your shiny brass with olive oil: dampen a soft cotton cloth with your olive oil of choice and brush your brass with it. Apply as lightly as possible.
http://www.howtocleanthings.com/how-to-clean-brass.htm

[thecoalman]

Use at your own risk but you can clean it using electrolysis.

• A plastic bucket of water big enough for what you want to clean.
• Battery charger ,old transformer or something else low voltage.
• Washing soda (not baking soda).
• A piece of piece of sacrificial metal preferably with large surface, an old circular saw blade or something similar like a an old pot lid will do. If the item is small and you're using smaller plastic bucket you can use something smaller like the lid off a metal coffee can. For example this is an interesting experiment you can do cleaning a penny using a plastic cup and a nail.

Be sure to do this outside and wear eye protective . Add a cup of washing soda to each five gallons of water, you don't have to be exact. Attach the positive lead from the battery charger to your saw blade and place it in the water. Make sure the alligator clips from the battery charger are not in contact with the water because you don't want to ruin them. If possible use multiple saw blades around the entire circumference of the bucket. Attach the negative lead to what you want to clean and place it in the middle of the bucket, it helps to have a rod going across the bucket to suspend it. Turn the battery charger on, 12 to 24 volts at the highest amperage. Sounds crazy right? After a short time the item you are trying clean will start to form little bubbles. You can let this sit overnight it takes off rust, paint etc. It's going to look really bad in the morning and will have a reddish scum on top of the water. It's not toxic other than possibly anything that might be in the paint if you're taking off paint.

The bolded is important because if you have the negative/positive leads the wrong way you'll destroy what it is you're trying the clean and clean your scrap metal.

You can substitute an old transformer for the battery charger especially if the item is smaller, cut off the plug that goes to the device and attach some alligator clips. Use a penny to test for the negative lead.

What you're doing here is removing a very small amount of metal from the surface of the item, it will clean anything. Paint, dirt, grease, tarnish etc.

[yellowbelle]

Apply ketchup and let it dry, then polish off.

[RayinAK]

I used this product in the past, and it worked as advertised. Have used it on bronze, brass, silver, and copper.
http://www.nevrdull.com/