Polishing/relacquering brass lenses

[tim atherton]

I did a search on Brasso. Stanley London sells 8 oz. (235ml) for $2.99. There are lots of other sources including Ace Hardware, but they sell by the gallon.

you used to be able to just get it at Home Depot in Canada until fairly recently at least (bought a can two or so years ago - it lasts a long time...)

[David G. Gagnon]

The last time I bought Brasso it was on the grocery store shelf. It should be readily available.

DG

[Paul Coppin]

I finally just cleaned it at some length - I'll post a before and after when I get around to it. Since the front and rear elements were kind enough to unscrew without any particular agony, I was able to clean it quite thoroughly and even buff out some of it. Looks good - maintains all of its character marks and stains, some of its residual lacquer, and yet still has the bright beauty that brass is known for. Now looks like a lens that's worked for a living (which I think it probably has), but has been cared for some. Now to find or make a threaded flange for it. A previous owned machined an adaptor flange to change the thread diameter from the lens back element to a larger flange, but neither thread is a common standard today as far as I can tell. In the worse case scenario I can mount the adaptor flange into a board in some way to use it that way. Primary cleaning agent was Brasso, with a light buff where needed with a fine jeweler's compound on a wheel.

It would be nice if these old lens came with a diary This one came out Russia on the first Ebay (that I could find) and out of Montreal on the second. If its been in Russia since 1907, it may have seen a lot of history.

Oh yeah, it has a 2 in. slot for waterhouse stops, which didn't come with it, which will have to be my next project along with the flange plate.