Carbon removal from brass

Hi all, I'm trying to clean up a Villiers Junior engine I've had for a while before I install it in a bike, but I can't get the carbon off the brass flywheel cover. I've managed to remove the carbon from the rest of the steel and alloy with steel wool, but I'm fairly sure the brass would be scratched if I used steel wool on that. Any suggestions as to what I can use?

You may think I am extracting urine here BUT I am not......HP sauce is the one.

Heh, HP sauce is probably one of the last things I would have thought to use, but I'll give it a try!

Do you just leave it on for a while or rub it in?

Leave it on a while..overnight usually removes all stains and tarnishes.

Can't beat Brasso IMHO.

Tried brasso, but the carbon is in the grooves of the brass. I was sat there rubbing the same spot for 10 minutes and it didn't budge! It ended up being a very shiny bit with black lines on it.

Hi gobble
Wire wool will not scratch brass I have always used it for first clean to remove tarnish. If you check out the new projects section r2 X 2 the brass on that engine was really cruddy and the finish you see there was off wire wheel on a drill brass is a lot harder than you think.

kev wrote:Hi gobble
Wire wool will not scratch brass.

Depends how hard the wire wool is. Different makes = different hardnesses.

I suggest you try the wool on a part of the cover that doesn't show.

wait until its running then using scotch pads to clean it up. scotch is much less aggressive that wire wool. and since the engine is running the scratches left run in the same direction as the grooves and won't be noticed.
hope this helps and be carful!
callum

When I get home at easter, I'll give it a go and put some pictures of the results on.

Thanks for all the replies!