What is a safe way....
to clean the brass receiver on a Henry Big Boy?
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I don't know that you want to do that; what does it look like that makes you think it needs cleaning? If it's just dirty, a cloth dampened with window cleaner is mild enough that it would be safe, as long as you follow up with oil to protect the steel parts.
Gun manufacturers don't give away detailed information about their processess, but most brass products are sprayed with a coat of clear lacquer to seal the surface & prevent tarnishing. Brasso is an abrasive that does a great job of cleaning brass, but, if you use it once, you have to use it often ---- & forever; it won't take much use on a gun before the finish is ruined.
Neal0 -
Flitz works good. 0 -
Don't it will hurt the value later down the road.
EDIT will it become collectable[?] we could all be rich if we knew the answer to that question but I bet more guns have lost value by refinishing / polishing / reblueing ETC then being oiled and maintained but leaving the natural aging and patina alone. Did anyone ever thing a WW II Jap pistol would be come a collector item or a U.S. Liberator[:I][?]0 -
Will a Henry Big Boy have enhanced value down the road? 0 -
quote:Originally posted by He Dog
Will a Henry Big Boy have enhanced value down the road?
I doubt that, but the little rifles are fun to shoot, I had several when I was Boy, but they both broke.
My guess would be Brass polish...0 -
quote:Originally posted by HAIRY
to clean the brass receiver on a Henry Big Boy?
Brass is very often abused by the wrong cleaning agents, but with proper care, it can last several life times.
It's primary constituents are Copper and zinc, heavy on the copper.
It's the lesser elements in brass that cause a problem for cleaning.
Brass in general is made up of the following:
Antimony .02-.100%
Copper 58-86%
Iron .05-.35%
Lead .05-5%
Phosphorous .02-.1%
Silicon 3.5-4.5%
Tin .5-5%
Zinc 5-39.3%
The grade of brass depends on the chemical composition and the processing of it.
http://www.matweb.com/search/DataSheet.aspx?MatGUID=d3d8a85fd16a4a609d2c394c0cbf7f78
260 brass for instance is cartridge brass with 68.5-72.5 % copper, 28.5% zinc (also one of the main reasons brass cartridges corrode so readily in leather gun belts) and trace elements of lead/iron. (lead added to balance solidification phases)
Brass is also generally an austenitic grain structure.
http://www.metallography.com/types.htm
With that said, you have to match the cleaner to the grade of brass being cleaned. Depending on the cleaner, trace elements in that cleaner can adversely affect the brass grain structure.
This is because some of the commercial cleaners out there contain elements that will mildly etch the brass to make it shine.
To add to that, some of them also contain abrasives as well as the mild etchant.
You can end up with inter-granular stress corrosion from using the wrong material to clean to often or improperly.
http://corrosion-doctors.org/Forms-intergranular/intergranular.htm
This is due to grain boundary segregation which leads to worse things. (read the link)
With that said, if you want to clean the brass of your firearm, I suggest contacting the manufacture to get cleaning recommendations.
You can rest assured their metallurgist (people like me) have analyzed their particular alloy and can give you a much better idea what to use.
I have bought many a beat up inoperable firearms over the years just so I can perform a positive material identification (wet chem usually, x ray diffraction sometimes) I've even cut a chunk out of perfectly good firearms I have a particular interest in to do this with. (glocks for instance).
I strongly advise contacting Henry in your case.0 -
Good advice; thanks. 0 -
Obviously the safest way to clean the brass receiver is to first ensure that the rifle is not loaded.[:)]
That said, I simply wipe it down with a soft cloth. The brass is coated, though I do not know what it is. I would definitely not use anything abrasive (brasso, flitz, nevr-dull, etc.) as it would remove the finish and expose the brass for oxidation.
When Remington came out with the VCI additive to Rem-oil, I began using it on the cloth to remove any smudges, etc. Supposedly the VCI creates an oxidation barrier that will displace oxygen both on the rifle and in the general vicinity of the rifle.
Thus far, there are no signs of anything causing any problems with the rifle, but it has only been four years.0
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