Cleaning Brass Grip Ferrules

[Dr. Dingus]

How would one go about removing red tarnish off of said parts? I ordered new ferrules, only to discover I cannot remove them without damaging the wood, so I ended up buying new grips, as they come with the ferrules, only to discover they are even worse off.

Edit: It seems to actually be the sealant used on the wood, vs tarnish, yet nothing seems to remove it.

 

[Dr. Dingus]

 

[dfariswheel]

Try using a pencil eraser, possible one that's made to erase ink.
Those are more abrasive then standard pencil erasers.

Option two.... get a wood dowel the size of the bushing and glue a circle of fine wet or dry sand cloth to the end.
Rotate by hand on the bushing to clean.

 

[James K2020]

Option two seems the safest. Could try acetone/nail polish remover or paint stripper with a small pointy Q-tip and a steady hand. Let it soak and wipe with clean pointy Q-tip. But I'd try the fine grit sandpaper on the dowel first.

 

[Tilos]

You can mask off the grip by using a leather punch to punch a hole in some tape the size of the ferrule.
Put the hole punched tape over the grip to protect the grip from any chemical/abrasive you will be using.
jmo,
.

 

[J-Bar]

I would put the tiniest dab of Brasso on Q-tip, and take my time putting it on the metal while wearing magnifying glasses like an Optivisor to avoid contacting the wood. Allow the Brasso to dry. Then wipe off with a soft cloth. Repeat as needed. Using abrasives or solvents around the wood scares me.

 

[Pat Riot]

To clean up some inletted ferrules I literally used a Lee primer pocket cleaner to scrape it then I used some blue polish similar to Flitz (Napa Auto version of Flitz) and used a wood handled cotton swab to polish it as @J-Bar suggested.
It didn’t come out perfect, but I sure looked a lot nicer.
You could also used a metal end brush to remove heavy gunk / debris. I have done that with black or stainless ferrules.
This company has lots of really great brushes.

Miniature End Brushes | Torrington Brush Works

Miniature End Brushes

www.torringtonbrushes.com

 

[Dave DeLaurant]

The photo of the new grip looks like it might have some of the wood finish covering the ferrule. If it was just tarnish, I'd try a Q-tip with Flitz metal polish, but if it is varnish you may need to resort to a Dremel and fine polishing rouge, since a strong solvent would likely damage the wood finish.

Or you could simply rub it with your thumb until the surface shines. Personally I leave ferrules alone unless they've started to turn green.

 

[doubleh]

Exacto or small pocket knife and a light touch. Just scrape the finish off.

 

[Dr. Dingus]

Thanks for the info, fellas!