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Cleaning bronze chocks

2K views 9 replies 4 participants last post by  sailaway21 
#1 ·
Any thoughts on cleaning these in place? My guess is they've never been touched. I'd prefer not to have to remove them and then rebed them. I believe they are bronze. I'm not sure what they'd look like cleaned up... Thoughts and ideas? Thanks!!!

 
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#2 ·
cleaning bronze/copper

a solution thats easy to make up and cheap is a saturated salt solution with some vineger added. may take a few applications but does the trick and has been around for centuries. there's another solution but it has acid in it and i don't remember the consentration or the exact acid to use. it was called aquaregia. makeup was given to me by my former chemist boss many years ago. maybe there are some wet water chemists out there that can shed some light on the mixture.
capnjim
s/v Que Pasa?
 
#3 ·
big precautions re; aqua regia!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just googled aqua regia. several hits and a recipe. one part hydrachloric acid ,3 parts nitric acid, one part distilled water. if my old days in the chem lab serve me, its acid into water, other way around and you will get a violent reaction. after use dispose of. don't and i repeat don't put it in a sealed bottle. build up of gases could very well cause it to explode. if not mixed correctly and in proper sequence there can be major hazards. use and or mix this if you follow directions carefully and know what your doing. this is nasty stuff and you could get hurt if used improperly.
capn jim
S/V Que Pasa?
 
#4 ·
Dupont Number 7 or 3M Perfect-it (in various grades) on a small vibrating or orbital sander for larger area's and on a Dremel for those hard to reach places works really well without having to get out the ranger rick chemistry set.

Or, a paste of baking soda & water cuts well too.
 
#5 · (Edited)
yea!!! several hours on each irregular shape!!!!!

beats a few minutes each with the chemistry set every time. doing it the hard way beats the good and easy way every time. a half assed job beats a good job every time!!!! the first was a centuries old tried and true method ,but a lot slower. the second was a better and quicker method but with caviets.
capn jim
s/v Que Pasa/
 
#7 ·
This brings back memories of when I was 12 - found a gas can half full in the woods behind my house. Don't ask me what I was thinking, but I poured every chemical from my chem set into it to see what would happen. I mentioned it to my sis, who mentioned it to my mom, and the next thing I knew the bomb squad was there removing it. Oops :) I'm leaning towards the synthetic methods right now... or just removing them and sending them out for cleaning and then rebedding them (I can't tell if it's dirt or disintegrating compound around the starboard side chock in the picture).

What do these things look like clean?
 
#10 ·
What ever method you use to clean them, you'll need to coat them to keep the shine. This can be as simple as a coat of varnish or some other product because without they will reoxidize quickly. If you elect to use a chemical on them, be aware that the biggest problem with doing so is applying the chemical only to the chock. Usually it manages to run onto things like your hull, where it does an equal job of removing things-like wax and the shininess of your paint!
 
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