Best Protectant For Shiny Stuff

[savarin]

I have just finished my telescope comprising of highly polished aluminium and brass.
Any suggestions as to what I can coat it with to keep it this way?
I tried a little carnuba car polish wax and that keeps the shine but I dont think it will be lasting.
Clear lacquers work on the brass for a short time but do eventually dull and they take the aluminium down to a cloudy shine almost straight away..
Most of the lacquers I've tried in the past yellow off in a short time so I dont want to use those again and they also let moisture bleed in places.
I suppose waxing every week is a possibility but lets be honest the gap between waxes will extend exponentially.
There must be something thats proven to keep the shine for an extended period of time (years hopefully)

 

[RJSakowski]

Clear polyurethane spray might be a possible. I have some anodized aluminum deck plate that was sprayed with it some six or seven years ago. We used it because the anodizing was not resistant to the lab chemicals we were using. Nothing will touch it. I had to scrape off with razor blades. Pretty much resistant to sanding.
Anodizing is also a good way to protect aluminum in typical environments. It is super hard and resistant to scratching. It is attacked by caustic chemical, however.

 

[silence dogood]

I just ran into a problem like yours except it is embossed copper that I made for doors on a church. We found out that you do not want to use nitrocelliod lacquer, because it breaths and lets oxygen in so it will tarnish. We decided to go for a brushed on acrylic lacquer and hope for the best. However, any clear finish will dull the nice shiny brass some what. The best that you can hope for is to stop or at best slow the corrosion. I believe that there is a marine grade, but it is pretty expensive. If any one has any experience using lacquer that keeps copper or brass tarnishing I'd be interested myself.

 

[wawoodman]

Years ago, I was told that the trick to lacquering brass is to warm it in an oven, to drive out any moisture. Before you call BS, the person who told me that had a business lacquering brass. He did a brass bed for me which is still shiny, some 35 years later.

 

[mikey]

I've been using Everbrite for years and it has kept brass and aluminum parts tarnish-free, at least for me. Here is a link for your consideration: https://www.everbritecoatings.com/brass.html. The stuff seems to last for years, can be brushed or sprayed on and has a very long shelf life. Haven't noted any yellowing, cracking or peeling.

 

[savarin]

I've been using Everbrite for years and it has kept brass and aluminum parts tarnish-free, at least for me. Here is a link for your consideration: https://www.everbritecoatings.com/brass.html. The stuff seems to last for years, can be brushed or sprayed on and has a very long shelf life. Haven't noted any yellowing, cracking or peeling.

Thats what I'm after, I had found the product which is in Australia (very expensive) bur I couldnt find anyone who had used it. Thanks

 

[mikey]

These guys are in California. They sell a small 4oz kit that I bought about 10 years ago and I still have some left. On small parts I apply it with a foam sponge, the kind women use to apply cosmetics, and put the part under a very small Halogen lamp. Dries very fast and doesn't seem to streak so I keep using it. So far, I've used it on brass, aluminum and mild steel and have been pleased. They say it lasts for about 10 years and you can re-coat it at need - the new coat melts the old and recovers it. Hope it works for you.

 

[uncle harry]

I have just finished my telescope comprising of highly polished aluminium and brass.
Any suggestions as to what I can coat it with to keep it this way?
I tried a little carnuba car polish wax and that keeps the shine but I dont think it will be lasting.
Clear lacquers work on the brass for a short time but do eventually dull and they take the aluminium down to a cloudy shine almost straight away..
Most of the lacquers I've tried in the past yellow off in a short time so I dont want to use those again and they also let moisture bleed in places.
I suppose waxing every week is a possibility but lets be honest the gap between waxes will extend exponentially.
There must be something thats proven to keep the shine for an extended period of time (years hopefully)

The POP (Point of Purchase) advertising producers of displays, beer & other signs & similar stuff produce chrome-like finishes on smooth injection molded parts by sputter coating aluminum in vacuum. Virtually any polar substrate can be coated in this way. Subsequent to coating, these parts are sprayed with a clear finish that preserves the appearance for decades. A google search re: vacuum metalizing might produce results. I don't know much about the sign business "down under" but this might be a possible solution.

 

[savarin]

Thats what we do to the mirrors in the Newtonian and similar scopes to give the high reflectivity surface.
Aluminium is the favourite metal to be deposited for that and has to be re-done after a period of time depending upon the atmosphere its used in.
Way too expensive for this application.

 

[uncle harry]

Thats what we do to the mirrors in the Newtonian and similar scopes to give the high reflectivity surface.
Aluminium is the favourite metal to be deposited for that and has to be re-done after a period of time depending upon the atmosphere its used in.
Way too expensive for this application.

Yes the precise deposition for optics is overly costly. My point is that in the "cheap & dirty" use of the process, the finish is protected by a clear lacquer that would probably answer your needs.