Hi folks,
Bought some ex-issue kit from S&S a wee while ago and I'm looking to spruce them up, as they're a bit tatty looking! I've read up on removing the Blanco on Blanco and Bull, but I'm not so sure on the metalwork.
I've taken some pics of the offending items:-
Here we have them: one small pack, and one Sten sling - excuse the awkward angle. Both have been Blanco'd at some time or another, as you can see (although I found it odd that the sling appeared to have been done; I thought slings were left as they were). From here the brass on the small pack doesn't look too bad...
Lovely shade of turquoise on one of the rear straps. This needs fixing!
Probably the worst affected area: the attachment hook of the Sten sling. I doubt this'll be fixable, but I'd like to be told otherwise.
So, if anyone has any tips on how I can clean these up, I would be most grateful. 
'ABSIT OMEN'
Good old Brasso will work fine although will require some elbow grease. Judicious use of fine wire wool might be required to get the worst off first (or maybe a dremel with felt pad and brasso or cutting compound). You will probably have some pitting in the worst area but at least they will be brass-coloured. It is inevitable, given the amount of work to be done, not to get the Brasso on the webbing - something you would normally try to avoid (taking brasses off where possible). Be sure to scrub all this off before blancoing else it will look horrible. And yeah, don't re-Blanco the Sten sling, done for parade use not fighting!
Wire wool, Brasso, and a whole lot of elbow grease?
I can only get two of those three things from B&Q, but it's a start at least. 
Should I get to work removing the Blanco before tackling the brass, or do that afterwards? Or does it matter? 
'ABSIT OMEN'
Brass first. Clean webbing. Apply Blanco.
(Brasso from Wilkos. Elbow Grease from Poundland/interweb. Wire wool from B&Q)
http://www.therange.co.uk/elbow-grease-all-purpose-degreaser/home-&-furniture/The-Range/fcp-product/48639
Brasso is also cheap from poundland.
For verdigris that bad I'd go with a dremel and polishing disk. Even then you'll struggle to get it cleaned.
I've tackled quite a bit of badly corroded brass, and I usually dip the brass in to a small pool of Cillet Bang (the 'original' spray stuff in the purple and orange packaging, not the 'degreasing' spray stuff in the purple and green packaging), then I use a fine brass wire brush on a Dremel to clean it up while the Cillet bang is still wet (don't use a Dremel steel wire brush as this will mark the softer brass). As soon as it's looking reasonable, dunk the whole lot into lots of cold water to wash out the Cillet bang from any surrounding webbing - if you don't or accidentally let the Cillet Bang dry on the webbing it will dye it pink! Then clean up the brasses some more with Brasso by hand or on a Dremel polish wheel. Then wash the webbing and brass in a good hand soap to get rid of any Brasso overspill onto the webbing, before that stains it too...
The small pack looks like either a post-war Belgian Army 'pass-on' or one of the old war-time production ones that were dyed and modified for sale to the Danish army post-war. I'd remove the spade loop that's been added to make it more WW2 British. You can see it's a later addition, as it's even a different colour webbing! If it's had extra webbing loops sewn down the sides of it, then remove them too.
A Proud Member Of 'Team Spleen!' who play mainly at Gunman Airsoft, Tuddenham, Suffolk.
immerse the brass in vinegar for an hour then wash off and dry , then wire wool or brasso.lot's of ways to get the job done.
armoury
m1a1 Thompson,sten mk2,mp40,stg44,sterling,mk2 bren gun,lee Enfield no4 mk1,Mauser Kar98, Walther ppk,smith and Weston m10 and Mauser m712
Give me a big enough hammer and a place to stand and I could fix the world.
i'll kill a man in a fair fight or if i think he's going to start a fair fight or over a woman or.......
a problem shared is a problem halved ,but an advantage shared is no advantage at all
if a job's not worth doing then its certainly not worth doing well
Soaking in coca cola works well if you can get the metalwork off.
Make sure you use 000 grade fine wire wool, not the coarse stuff.
immerse the brass in vinegar for an hour then wash off and dry
Weirdly, it is acetic acid (vinegar) that creates verdigris (used to be done commercially to get the green pigment!). I think this is why Brasso used ammonia as an active ingredient (alkali rather than acid) to assist removal and keep a thin veneer of protection (there is no need to wash Brasso off, just wipe clean). However, I notice that new Brasso no longer contains ammonia but another concoction. No doubt some H&S thing 
but anyway, it does still smell pungent!
(Cola has phosphoric acid so is probably less harmful and is used as a rust remover/converter - seems a waste though, Brasso was made for the job and is part of the soldierly experience. 
The Brasso cream will turn black as it removes crap and will stain/mark the webbing black/white if you don't remove it (but you will be scrubbing the webbing clean anyway) as anyone who has attempted to clean a bit of brass after blancoing has been done will have discovered. 
You are all gentlemen and scholars. 
'ABSIT OMEN'
