Soldering brass.

**BradC** · 5th September 2025, 08:09 PM

Most of the fluxes I use are either water soluble (bloody hot water) or will weaken with caustic solutions, so there's no real need to pickle. Prep before soldering would be something like a fine wet and dry, wash up and then acetone to degrease. You shouldn't need to pickle.

Just be super sparing and careful with acid flux if you use that. Bakers fluid is loaded with zinc, so it should be pretty gentle on the brass if you go easy.

**JDNSW** · 6th September 2025, 07:53 AM

Originally Posted by Tins

That's going to be fun, around all the posts etc.
What about reverse plating?

Yes, it will be fun, but a small (12mm) polish wheel in a suitable tool to spin it would make it easier.

I doubt reverse plating will be effective without ending up with some dezincification.

**Tins** · 6th September 2025, 07:57 AM

Originally Posted by JDNSW

Yes, it will be fun, but a small (12mm) polish wheel in a suitable tool to spin it would make it easier.

I doubt reverse plating will be effective without ending up with some dezincification.

Fortunately I have spent heaps on 'tools ? that have been gathering dust for a while. What I haven't bought is patience

Time to learn.

**Tins** · 9th September 2025, 08:20 AM

Hi John, Jane Clean is not going to do much to remove Nickel unfortunately.
It is something that will be challenging trying to remove with chemicals, we don't have anything that will do that safely sorry.

Kind Regards,

Guess they agree with you both. Oh well, time to learn some patience. I have surgery on Thursday so I guess I'll be inside a bit

**Tins** · 9th September 2025, 02:06 PM

Hmm.. Any thoughts on this?

**BradC** · 9th September 2025, 09:12 PM

Not sure. In theory it's probably ok. If you were going to try it, maybe try it on a nickel plated brass plumbing fitting first? Grab a cheap coupler/adapter from the big green shed and strip the nickel off to make sure it's not going to discolour the brass.

**JDNSW** · 10th September 2025, 09:14 AM

I think you will have trouble finding anything nickel plated today. Most, if not all of it, is chrome plated, and you definitely cannot solder that. Nickel plating was used from around the late 19th century into the 1920s, or perhaps a little later, but was replaced by chrome plating, often as a thin coating of chromium on top of nickel.

Chromium has the advantage that it does not tarnish - which nickel will, and also it is harder. Today chrome is often underlain with copper electroplate. Nickel, even when polished, looks yellowish compared to chrome, which has a bluish tint.

Stainless steel's colour when polished is usually pretty close in appearance to chrome, although it depends on the alloy - most stainless steel includes both chromium and nickel, in varying amounts, depending on the alloy. (And stainless steel is very difficult to ipossible to solder as well.)

**Tins** · 10th September 2025, 10:51 AM

Where one post has come off. Guessing this suggests it's nickel then.
IMG_6526.jpg

**JDNSW** · 11th September 2025, 06:20 AM

That certainly looks like solder.

**Tins** · 11th September 2025, 07:34 AM

Originally Posted by JDNSW;[URL="tel:3253642"

3253642[/URL]]That certainly looks like solder.

Does, doesn’t it? I can’t read a date on it. There is a serial number but I haven’t had any luck yet with finding a reference.
IMG_6524.jpg

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