Metal finishing questions...

[Martin S.]

I am polishing brass for a Kibler Woodsrunner.  I have polished to 600 grit, do I need to go further?  800 grit?

Also, do you prefer Jax Brown, Jax Black, or Birchwood Casey Brass Black?

I'll be doing the barrel later, with blueing rubbed back to a "French grey" look.  I can't remember what we used for degreaser.  Can I just use dishwashing soap?  Or do I need something more specific?

Thanks for your thoughts!

Martin

[Matt48]

Do you polish the brass on the gun? Or separately?

[Martin S.]

Do you polish the brass on the gun? Or separately?

I did mine separately.

[P.W.Berkuta]

It depends on how shinny you like it. I do 320 to 400 grit then 4/0 steel wool on most of my brass.

[Beaverman]

Have you not watched the Kibler videos on you tube on the Woodsrunner build, might want to give them a peek , covers how Jim finishes his brass.

[TDM]

Denatured alcohol is a great degreaser, it’s what I use. I generally take the brass to a full polish with a buffing wheel before the coloring with Jax Brown. Agree with Beaverman on watching the Kibler videos.

[Kevin Houlihan]

 For brass, I sand to 400, then maroon and then grey Scotch-Brite.  The Scotch-Brite helps blend the scratches.  I don't ever polish brass on a buffing wheel as it can remove any crisp lines and tends to cup screw holes.  Also, if you're going to use a Jax finish on the brass, finishing beyond 400 is pointless.  I had good results with the Jax Brown on brass and Jax Black on steele.
Good luck,
Kevin

[Matt48]

Have you not watched the Kibler videos on you tube on the Woodsrunner build, might want to give them a peek , covers how Jim finishes his brass.

Is there one where Jim shows how to finish the brass parts? I could not find it... Could you post a link please?

[Don]

It's in the Colonial series.  Used this and a couple of mentors from this great forum on mine.

[Matt48]

It's in the Colonial series.  Used this and a couple of mentors from this great forum on mine.

Thank you!

[wibper]

You want bright, shiny "like new" polished brass? Then use a cream polish like Mother's and buff it.  (Don't use Brasso - it's no good)  Or, you want a patina look?  Then your 600 grit has gone plenty far enough already.  I've used JAX Brown solution on a pistol build and it produces a very nice patina, and it's fast and easy to use.  I've also used the B-C solution on an earlier build, and I think JAX is far superior.

[Daryl]

You want bright, shiny "like new" polished brass? Then use a cream polish like Mother's and buff it.  (Don't use Brasso - it's no good)  Or, you want a patina look?  Then your 600 grit has gone plenty far enough already.  I've used JAX Brown solution on a pistol build and it produces a very nice patina, and it's fast and easy to use.  I've also used the B-C solution on an earlier build, and I think JAX is far superior.

When I was in basic training and injured, couldn't march with the troop, I spent that period, polishing the galvanized garbage can in the drill hall, with Brasso. By Graduation (yeah -badly injured)
that garbage can looked like it was chrome polished. The "brass" liked it so much, they had it chrome plated in Regina, because it would tarnish in 2 or 3 days. I had to buy the brasso myself.

[Clark Badgett]

Brasso certainly does work. I might still have the remnant of my last can from my active military days.

[Tumbledown]

I do brass down to 800 grit, then 0000 steel wool. For a simple polish, mix vinegar and flour into a paste and use it likecany commercial polish.

[Dphariss]

I am polishing brass for a Kibler Woodsrunner.  I have polished to 600 grit, do I need to go further?  800 grit?

Also, do you prefer Jax Brown, Jax Black, or Birchwood Casey Brass Black?

I'll be doing the barrel later, with blueing rubbed back to a "French grey" look.  I can't remember what we used for degreaser.  Can I just use dishwashing soap?  Or do I need something more specific?

Thanks for your thoughts!

Martin

Just use it. Do you think JP Beck or Dickert put brass black on the guns they made?  Any polish of 400 or better is fine. The antiquing craze is for people who like to pretend.

[JTR]

The antiquing craze is for people who like to pretend.

Well I don't know about that. Seems to me that the finish on a modern gun is like paint on a car; Some like red, some like Blue or black.
In the end, who cares. It's your car, or gun, so do what you like.

John

[Blacksmoke]

Mother Nature will always do a better job of "antiquing" than any of us can!  As Dan says " just use it'!  The antique look will appear with out any assistance.  Hugh Toenjes

[wibper]

.... The antique look will appear with out any assistance. ....

Except maybe those of us humans that are already ourselves antiqued by Mother Nature can't wait for Her to naturally antique our faux-antique guns.   

[Daryl]

Hasn't taken very long for this one. I kinda like it. Interesting. Still having trouble with pictures showing.

[reddogge]

When I built a gun for my 11-year-old son, the only gun brass mounted I've ever made, Jax didn't exist. I just admonished him to NEVER polish the brass. The gun antiqued itself. This would be 43 years of patina. Granted he hadn't shot this rifle in decades so most of the aging was done is 4 years.

[Dphariss]

The antiquing craze is for people who like to pretend.

Well I don't know about that. Seems to me that the finish on a modern gun is like paint on a car; Some like red, some like Blue or black.
In the end, who cares. It's your car, or gun, so do what you like.

John

I agree but I have seen some pretty silly paint jobs too.  An reenactor that makes the gun look like its 100 or more years old is pretty silly don’t you think? To make a rifle
look like an original that has 50-100 years of use is pretty silly when reenacting the period when the rifle would have been at most a few years old.  And rifles were expensive they were not abused except by accident.