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Hello,
anybody willing to share? I cleaned and polished them but they get darker and duller after a while. Should I paint with some bronze powder stuff and then lacquer, or just lacquer? Thanks in advance for any advice!

After cleaning and polishing the brass surface spray a clear coat of acrylic lacquer on it. That will seal the surface and slow down the rate of formation of tarnish.

For the last two decades Steinway NY has been coating the action frames with plate gold. I think it looks silly.

Thank you, Ed. It's exactly what I wanted to know.

A lot like those replacement Young Chang action brackets, I suppose.

Once heat touches the rails for soldering, the rails at the solder joint discolor from the heat. Some approach is aesthetically necessary to take the "burnt" look away. The gold paint approach is dumb looking, but way less expensive than blasting with fine bead. The fine bead dresses them up quite nicely, but is quite time consuming. 2 coats clear Brass lacquer keeps them looking swell.

Take care not to touch the polished rails with your fingers, until they have been lacquered. The finger prints will tarnish right quick...though, to be honest, the only ones who actually care about how these rails look in service are the resident action termites, dust bunnies and the occasional compulsive tech. That said, I polish my S&S frames after fine bead blasting. This because the polish is almost the only thing anyone ever notices...sigh

Muriatic acid will remove oxidation and discolor from the brass rails quickly. Including the mess from soldering.
(weak solution of hydrochloric used in swimming pools for ph balance)

You need GOOD ventilation.

Clean the rails with water several times afterward.

Do not leave an open container of the acid out, the fumes will discolor the brass. Make sure all materials are properly disposed immediately afterwards.

I use Flitz to bring up the luster. Two coats of clear lacquer to finish it.

To me, bead blast is nice, but dull. Not really the look I am going for. It is quick though.

Medium bead, I agree I don't particularly care for. Fine bead at 50lbs, glancing blow, followed by fine steel wool tickles my client's OCD. It brings up a nice polish.

I haven't tried muriatic acid...nasty stuff, but so is soldering with choride based flux and lead solder. Can't win with these babies. Always done in the paint room, big fan on, positive pressure ventilated hood.

Larry,
How do you keep the Muriatic acid from destroying the wood in the rails and the let-off buttons?

I do a very light and rapid bead blast with the flange screws in the holes and the buttons taped off with duct tape. I kind of like the satin finish. The gloss shows fingerprints. Acrylic lacquer is very hard and thin.

I have blasting equipment, but it has soda in it. Probably not the right stuff. I am in fact going to resolder the whippen rail.

Thanks for the advice!

Yeah...I change between fine bead and soda, depending on the stock. Soda does not work well on metals, but likes wood. Bead does not do well with wood, but likes metals. Bead @ 50-55 lbs, soda @ 25-30 lbs

Fine bead is a pain to feed as it tends to cake, but I still greatly prefer the result to medium bead.

Ed,

I use Q tips and small brushes(hair). You are right, keep it off the wood.
Brass brush on the cast brackets.

The acid works quickly. Working a series of small areas lets me control the process.

Larry

Hello again! I got hold of som acid, 50ml. But I am not sure what the procedure is when using it. I'll solder the whippen rail. Anybody willing to take the time go describe this in more detail? Thanks! I mean how to use the acid.

You can read Larry Bucks post's above for a start.

Wear acid proof gloves, goggles and head covering. If you need to dilute the muriatic acid remember to always pour the acid into water not water into the acid. Strong acid solutions can blow up into your face if you add water to them. Have a container of water close by for emergency rinse. Do the work outdoors if possible and wear disposable clothes.

Do use gloss acrylic lacquer as the clear coat. It makes for a more durable coating and is less thick. You can buy spray cans of it at most hardware stores.

Hello Ed,
thanks! I always read everything very carefully, so nothing goes wasted on me! But I was thinking more like do I solder first and then apply acid on still hot rails or wait for them to cool off? Or before soldering? Should I use the usual soldering paste, or is the acid instead of that?

Clean the action frame after all soldering is done. Wait for it to cool. Do not get acid in the screw holes.

Got it! Thanks a lot, Ed! I got through all the answers I received and realized I missed to thank Jim and Larry for very detailed advice.