Isn’t a wire brush on brass a bit harsh, Bruce? Buffing wheel, maybe. Depends on the cap I guess. Steel Coleman, right. I’m thinking brass classic stove/lantern caps. John
it depends entirely on the wire wheel--- some have thick stiff bristles other have thinner more flexible bristles-- on brass I use a very fine wheel- steel a little courses-- and I dont always have to use a wire wheel at all-- depends entirely on the surface at start of the project
John, you're absolutely right the wire wheel in the example above would be rough on brass unless you have a very deft touch. But as Bruce says there are exceptions. I use a carding wheel which is designed for polishing firearms when rust bluing them. It has exceptionally fine bristles and with a light touch works well on brass especially areas that don't show, like FA tubes or rough cast pieces like fuel valve bodies. I don't normally us it on smooth polished areas like the body of a brassie. The down side is a carding wheel is expensive, about $50 for a 6" wheel last I bought, but they last several years.
I use brass bristles (gently) on brass and steel bristles (gently) on steel. Seems obvious to me - but I'm not an engineer...
