Questions & Answers

Questions & Answers

Q. Should the kitchen and shoe brushes you describe be natural bristle? I would not want to scratch my son's
marker. (It is bronze on granite.)

A. I have found that either the plastic "vegetable" type, or natural bristle brushes work just as well when
waxing bronze memorials. However, some natural bristles are so soft that it takes longer to burnish the wax.
Since I am doing more and more bronze preservation, I use a horse hair rotary brush with an electric drill to
save my hands and arms. It produces the best finish, especially with surfaces that have deteriorated. But
if you are preserving a memorial that is relatively new, waxing with a hand brush will work fine.

Q ...."The photo's attached are of a plaque & monument [USS Bennington] I had dedicated to the 103 who paid
the ultimate sacrifice for their country, back in May of 1954. Well, in a nut-shell, it seems like the younger
generation has found the monument and decided to try and deface it. " JK Pires.

A. The close-up pictures of the damage reveal that the clear coating was scratched, but the background color was
not scratched through to the metal. Because of that I suggested that he try recoating with the lacquer the
manufacturer sent (OMNI-PAK Master Blend (EZ TOUCH) #330-684 Urethane Clear). (Note is is a good idea to
always test a small spot to make sure a new coating is compatible with an existing coating.) He reported the
following: "In a nutshell, I washed and air-dried the monument [see eBook how to do this]. I made a few
templates of the area that was scratched and applied the following solvent in straight line passes (sprays)
approximately 6" directly over the scratched areas of the bronze plate. The problem was solved! Click here for
story & photos.