Verdigris to clean or not

[Charliedog012012]

Now, that is a stunning difference. You must have been well pleased with that.

[Tigerlily]

I was THRILLED with it before I cleaned it, you have no idea how badly I wanted that badge, Mr Spellman can verify how badly I took losing it on ebay, so was stoked to be given this one. Spent best part of 2 hours on it cleaning every individual flame. Utter respect to every grenade wearing soldier who has regularly done the same cos its a total pain in the derriere.

[ubervamp]

Here are some links about cleaning brass covering all the suggestions and tips mentioned above plus, many, many more!

http://infopreneur.typepad.com/perio...oor-knobs.html

http://www.classicpressurelamps.com/...33/post/49046/

As for the dark stains left by the removal of verdigris; I have not tried to use a polish to remove them as that would strip the patina, which I have tried to retain.
An abrasive polish like Autosol would probably remove them, but at the cost of loss of patina.
Also, it depends how long the badges has been affected, and how deep the verdigris has eaten into the metal. On some of my badges, upon removing the verdigris, there is a lot of pitting in the metal, where it's literally been eaten away. Alli's King's Own doesn't seem to be affected in this way, so maybe it was caught early on?

[Tigerlily]

Colin I'm not even convinced it was verdigris it looked like it had been burnt, buried, dipped in Windowlene, burnt again then left out to dry. It was to use a technical term, a bleedin mess. Anyway its all clean now.

[Charliedog012012]

I see one of the links suggests toothpaste! I seemed to remember reading that before but I thought it bizarre to say the least. Still you can clean your teeth and badges at the same time. How good is that?

[ubervamp]

Originally Posted by Tigerlily

Colin I'm not even convinced it was verdigris it looked like it had been burnt, buried, dipped in Windowlene, burnt again then left out to dry. It was to use a technical term, a bleedin mess. Anyway its all clean now.

Well, you did a good job - they turned out great!
I'm going to dig out some fakes and broken badges tomorrow and try out a few things on the verdigris.

[Charliedog012012]

So Colin I hope you will not forget to try Colgate, Oral B, Aquafresh, Coca Cola, Pepsi , lemon and Bicarbonate! Not quite sure whether you will be cooking, cleaning or drinking but I look forward to your results!

[wardog]

Toothpaste has also been used to clean white plastic caps-I can vouch for RAFP-possibly RN? Regards, Paul.

[QSAMIKE]

Many years ago I purchased a couple of old badges that were covered with verdigris and I accidentally left them in my pants pocket and she who must be obeyed put them through the wash.....

They came out of the pocket as clean as a whistle as if they were brand new.....

I now have an old sock that I use occasionally..... The misses just about went crazy when I purchased two dozen badges that all that needed cleaning LOL......

Mike

[woronora]

Hi Tigerlily

Was the Autosol you used the 'Metal Life Saver'? If so did you use it straight or diluted?

Cheers

John

[KLR]

It should go without saying of course - but rinse thoroughly after treatment !

[Tigerlily]

Originally Posted by woronora

Hi Tigerlily

Was the Autosol you used the 'Metal Life Saver'? If so did you use it straight or diluted?

Cheers

John

Hi John

Its in a tube so use it straight, I use it on stable belt buckles and just use elbow grease to completely remove it, but on badges I go a little more delicately leave it on the badge for a bit longer wipe it off then give it a rinse over with water then take a cloth to it, in the case of the grenade shown doing each flame at a time. Painstaking but the result speaks for itself.

Alli

[Frank Kelley]

I would certainly want to "kill" the verdigris, any product that contains ammonia should deal with that and then you can set about cleaning it.

Originally Posted by MH331

I recently bought this AMB cap badge. It has a heavy layer of verdigris to the front.

1. Should I clean it?

if so

2. What is best without damaging the badge?

thanks

Mark

[Charlie 585]

I don't have any before and after images to show here but having in the past used, lemon juice, vinegar, Autosol and other semi abrasive products to clean badges, I have had good results recently using silver dip to remove Verdigris as well as general crud from badges of all metals.

I used a soft toothbrush to loosen tough deposits and rinse the badge with water before drying thoroughly.

I have also used renaissance wax to from an invisible protective layer in the hope of maintaining the finish. This is easily removed with lighter fluid if need be at any time.

Regards to all.

Ry

[MH331]

Here is the result of several soakings in diluted white vinegar on my 1 AMB badge. The verdigris is gone, a few dark stains, I am reluctant to go further in case the badge becomes too shiny.