tripoli powder

[VEEBULL]

Can anybody tell me the properties of Triopli powder ? Is it a natural substance or man made ?
I was wondering if tripoli powder might be abrasive enough to use as a fine cut on some brass work .Yeah ,I know BRASSO !!(it leaves white powder behind and is a fair cow to remove from nook and crannys .)

Veebull

[Wood Borer]

VBull,

I have used Tripoli powder for polishing metal and glass and it does very well. I have mixed the powder with water and rubbed the paste on with a soft cloth.

The residue will need to be rubbed off.

[Sprog]

Yeah ,I know BRASSO !!(it leaves white powder behind and is a fair cow to remove from nook and crannys .)

Veebull

A toothbrush is good for getting in the nooks and crannies

[durwood]

Tripoli is one of the abrasives used in compounds used to buff paint. It may be what brasso uses as its abrasive. One of the otherabrasive powders is rouge. (its the red orange one )

There are several others which will do just as good or better job but most of them are not available readily here in Australia. If you can find some "Goddards" metal polish you may find its better for you than brasso. "Amway" make one that works really well on badly tarnished brass.

I have been polishing a brass trimmed car for over 40 years and have tried dozens of different brands. I currently am using a USA product called master formula metal gloss which is probably the best I've seen but I bought it in the USA at a swap meet two years ago.

You havn't said what you are polishing. If its really old and badly tarnished wipe it over with phosphoric acid first and then use a polish to finish it up. If you can use a cloth buff pad on a bench grinder with metal polish blocks ( abrasive in wax ) it will vewry quickly get to the high gloss finish obtainable with brass and you will only need a small rub and wipe over with brasso type polish, this will save you lots of elbow grease.

As sprog said use a toothbrush and a light oil to clean out the residue. the oil will soften the powder if you use water it will start the tarnishing process again a lot sooner.

You can get clear designed to cover polished brass to prevent further tarnishing but it will only last a few years and then you will need to strip if off to polish the brass again

[VEEBULL]

Thanks for the input guys , BTW , I spent a bit of time in uniform , so I am only too familiar with cleaning the effin brass work !! lol

Veebull

[Shedhand]

Thanks for the input guys , BTW , I spent a bit of time in uniform , so I am only too familiar with cleaning the effin brass work !! lol

Veebull

Me too mate. Can't beat brasso and cardboard for polishing the old brassware.