Restoring brass on a Sanderson Tropical

[Rover90]

Hello everyone,

Well I've just taken my first step into the world of large format. I was walking through a street market in Bath a few weeks ago and spotted a pile of wood, brass, and leather on a stall. It was a half-plate Sanderson Tropical, and if a camera could weep... it looked very sorry for itself! Much to the delight of my wife, I took it home and began researching to find out more about it. One thing I discovered was that the more I learnt, the less I knew. I feel sure I'm going to have a number of questions throughout this project, so if I may, I'm going to begin by asking you for advice about the brasswork.

The fittings on this camera are solid brass rather than plated. Having removed the front struts I cleaned off the old brown shellac coating with methylated spirits, and gave it a good polish with Brasso (I'm in the UK, so I don't know whether that tradename has travelled far?) My question is this: having cleaned the struts, how would you recommend I finish them?

I bought a bottle of 'white polish' for the woodwork - this seems to be a more modern shellac-based French polish, so would that be appropriate? I have also seen references to Renaissance wax or tung oil. I'm not sure about the former. It's great for use in museums where objects are left on display, but I like to use my cameras even if only occasionally. I know lacquer is also a possibility, but I'm looking for durability without a thick coating that will impede the movement of the struts and the other bits I have yet to clean. What would you guys use for a camera that is nearly 110 years old?

Finally, and in the spirit of give and take - have you ever cleaned brass only to be left with dark blotches that your polish won't remove? I'm told these stains are a type of corrosion that results from the proportions of zinc and copper in the alloy. The somewhat unexpected way to remove them is tomato ketchup..! Clean the item with your chosen metal polish (Brasso or whatever) and apply ketchup liberally to the stains. Leave it for a few hours and you will find it goes a horrible dirty green - this does not sit well with the 'normal' tomato smell that remains! Wash it off, dry thoroughly, and give it another polish. You will be amazed at the result - and if you're anything like me, a bit concerned about what ketchup does to your insides next time you have a bag of chips!!!

Thanks in advance for your help.

Roger

[LabRat]

At least the brass wasn't thin plated with half of it gone, and the base metal...

The stains will buff out, and as soon as possible after cleaning, carefully wipe down with acetone (wearing gloves to not leave fingerprints) and spray with a gloss clear coat, or thin some shellac and rub down with a thin cloth a very thin layer on the bare (removed) parts... Expect a little (slight) oxidation in the weeks/months to come, but consider it a natural aging process...

For the wood, first find a non visible area, and dab a tiny spot with denatured alcohol, and if it melts, the finish was shellac...

To finish, look up "french polishing" with shellac... It can be applied over an existing finish (as it is done on old guitars), but the finish does not like to get too wet, or alcohol applied to it... But can usually be fixed and if all goes wrong, removed or thinned with a strong alcohol...

I don't have a pix of it handy, but I'm re-starting a restoration of an old French field camera that had been covered for many years with white house paint heavily applied to the camera and bellows, used as a prop for advertising in a photographer's shop window... (I had seen it as a young child, and many years later ended up with it...) Underneath the paint was beautiful cherrywood and brass fittings (that were crusty black)... But with a lot of cleaning and giving the brass a clear coat many years ago, the wood and metal are still in good condition, so yes, there is a finish under there, somewhere...

Good luck!!!

Steve K

[Drew Wiley]

Shellac is the method for restoration authenticity. But an automotive clearcoat product like Raindance would be more durable. The problem with waxes and related polymer clearcoats is that you don't want to get them onto anything other than the metal hardware. Once on wood itself, you'd have to strip the wax to apply a true oil finish, though many old time camera finishes were oil/was mixtures. Be careful with these - oily rags from applying such products are infamous for spontaneous combustion. Dunk them in water immediately after use. Polishing brass is easy enough. For small parts use a Dremel felt points and pads at REDUCED SPEED. Otherwise, the mere thought of shiny brass makes me want to barf. In my 20's I spent endless hours polishing brass during renovations of Victorian mansions. Then in my 30's I sold millions of dollars worth of brass hardware annually for similar projects. Thankfully, my own wooden view cameras have either titanium or aircraft aluminum hardware, and my wooden tripod have bronze and stainless.

[Jim C.]

Congrats on the find, I wish I had such luck !

Those dark stains in the as you ascertained are deep corrosion of the copper component of the brass
I've used nylon abrasive wheels to buff them out, Dremel sells them in sets of a fine and coarse wheels.
Then hand polish it all back to whatever the OEM surface finish was like with a metal polish like Flitz.
You can lacquer the brass if you thin it out and spray it on, shellac may be too warm a tone for the brass.
I've usually left the brass bare after polishing, I have 1908 kodak 2d that I left as is after cleaning
and polishing and the brass looks great 3 years later.

I would carefully check the wood for the type of finish that was used, some used lacquer, some shellac.
Clean the wood with a damp cloth to see how the finish is, if the finish looks to be in good shape then
follow with a good cleaning with VM&P Naptha, which shouldn't affect either shellac or lacquer.
To ascertain if it's lacquer or shellac, use a cotton swab with some denatured alcohol and swab a inconspicuous
area, alcohol will dissolve shellac, but not a lacquer finish. If the alcohol does nothing them it's probably a
lacquer finish, I would check with some lacquer thinner just to be sure.
With shellac as Labrat mentions can be refinished over the old, on my 2d which used shellac I basically
polished it with a rag dampened with alcohol, it re activated the original shellac and didn't add any thickness.
Laquer could be done the same way but it's tricky.

Good luck and post pictures of the camera !

[Steven Tribe]

Brass finishing varies a lot. Some were plain shellac, later sometimes a burnished brown finish (especialy french walnut cameras) or varying thicknesses of nickel plating.

Wood finishing was a bit more complicated than it looks, as mahogany, walnut and teak have many surface dimples and holes which makes for a dilemma as to whether a mirror finish is required or not. Some fill out these holes before using shellac. I use many (more than 10) layers of modern spray lacquer. All fitments are removed beforehand, of course.

Your biggest problem will be the bellows, unless you have been very, very lucky!

[Rover90]

Steve and Drew,

Thank you. I really appreciate you taking the time to answer my question. The existing finish is definitely shellac - I carried out the test on a seriously mutilated lens panel! At least it wasn't coated in white paint... Even however many years ago it was when your camera got the 'treatment', Steve, you have to wonder what was going through the mind of the person who did it?! I have to admit that since I work for museums, I do seem to possess some kind of 'originality gene' so I think I'm probably sold on the idea of French polish (which does seem to be what the white polish I mentioned is, and it does say on the bottle that it goes clear on drying) Drew, like I said, I am new to the LF game, but I'm interested to hear that you have wooden cameras with titanium and/or aircraft ally hardware? Such magic would not have been an option in 1908!

Thanks again, guys.

Roger

[Jac@stafford.net]

I have to admit that since I work for museums,

Ah, excellent, then you are probably aware of the US government documents regarding restoration standards and techniques. (None that I know of mention Brasso, however. )

I would like to know how to get the dark, almost golden-brownish color of brass. Tried banana oil, but all I got out of it was fruit salad.

[Rover90]

That's interesting, Jim. So you cleaned and polished the brass, and then left it bare to just tarnish naturally? Whilst the brass on my camera is looking much better for being cleaned and polished, I'm aware that if I lacquer it (or whatever) to preserve the shine it is going to look a bit glitzy. Once I've figured how to post pics I'll post some of it in its as found condition.
All the best
Roger

[IanG]

I have three different colour shellac and use the most appropriate to keep the original colour, I prefer to make my own French polish as it seems to work better than the commercial varieties here in the UK.

It doesn't help that some manufacturers coloured their french polish, used a gesso base or stained the wood first. shellac for brass work and lenses often contained Tumeric and Dragons Blood (a red resin plant pigment) - I've found Ikjet pigments work just as well.

Ian

[Rover90]

you are probably aware of the US government documents regarding restoration standards and techniques

Hi Jac,
No, I'm not - but here in the UK the Museums Association sets such standards. However, I imagine that it's the same in the USA in that museums take the conservation approach rather than restoration. I want to use my camera, so although originality is important to me, it has to be practical too!
Cheers
Roger