The new Brasso

The old standby.

 Everybody knows Brasso, right?  That stinky stuff that you can use to almost magically return corroded copper, brass or bronze to a mirror finish...  you know.  The chemical engineer in me wants you to know that the stinky part is really an important part of the magic.  See, there is this thing called the copper-ammonium complex; it makes copper much, much more soluble in water than it would be without the presence of the ammonium ion.  It is this highly increased solubility which helps to remove the surface oxidation, in concert with the fine abrasives also present, and your elbow grease of course.

Well, recently the old can we had here on Eolian finally ran out, and I was forced to buy another. 

I wasn't really surprised when I found that it now comes in a plastic bottle instead of a steel can. 

But I was sorely disappointed with what is now inside the container.  It seems to be far less effective, and the abrasive is considerably coarser than it used to be.  It takes a lot more elbow grease, and due to the coarser abrasive the result is no longer a mirror finish.  Like so many things, the formula was changed - in 2008 - to make the product comply with the new U.S. volatile organic compounds law.  More, it turns out that the version of Brasso sold in other countries is completely different than the current USA version. 

So can any of you UK readers of this blog confirm that this is the good old regular, highly effective, formula? 

Does anybody have a can of the old stuff they would want to sell?

The new Brasso

Rockin' and rollin'

Eolian is a rockin' and rollin' in her slip... There's a major wind storm blowing thru Shilshole right now,  and a lot of last nite.  Sleeping was not something we did much of...  Kath would say that it's blowin' a hoolie...

For an updated view of what's happening, look over there on the right for "Current winds at Shilshole".

11:32 Update:  
The wind has not let up, and the heavy rain continues.  The rain is coming down so hard that it is not just melding with the surface of the ocean, the rain drops are sitting on top of the water!   (They're the white dots in the image below.)

Finally, for those of you on shore or elsewhere, here's a short video of Eolian's anemometer in the cockpit to bring this experience to you. That loud noise in the background is the rain hammering on the cockpit canvas...

Rockin' and rollin'

I won't steer you wrong

So when your wooden wheel needs refinishing, and the weather is too inclement and cold to do the work in the cockpit, what do you do?

This is the solution we've developed here on Eolian:

• Remove the bronze hub (and take it to the shop for a trip to the buffing wheel - much better than you can do by hand with Brasso, especially the new Brasso)
• Sand.  I used 220 because I just wanted to rough up the original finish enough to give it "tooth" to hang on to the new finish.
• Fit a spare piece of 1" stainless tubing to the hole in the center normally covered by the hub
• String a piece of small line thru the tubing and make fast to the overhead handhold.
• Put down a piece of polyethylene to catch any drips
• Apply three coats on three successive days

This allows me to spin the wheel as I apply the varnish so that I can get at all sides.   Of course it does take up a lot of space in the interior, but there is just enough room that a svelte guy (like your correspondent) can slide by.

I won't steer you wrong

Tie shooter

(I wonder how many folks ended up here because they were looking for some Star Wars © related toy)

• Zip ties,
• Tie-wraps, 
• Wire ties,
• Cable ties,
• Nylon ties,
• Panduits (if you work for the Boeing company)...

Whatever you call them - they're all the same thing.  And I know you have them on board - every boat does.  In fact you probably have a stash of them, ready to hand.  They are so handy that they get used for everything.  They're probably right there next to your duct tape.

That's where this tool comes in - it can pull the ties a lot tighter than you can by hand, and it cuts them off almost flush with the retainer/ratchet gizmo.  The little red knob is an adjustment for the tension that is applied - the tool is strong enough to break the smaller wire tires if the tension is all the way up.

It's not an expensive tool - I'm sure I paid less than $10 for mine, but it was an impulse buy (too many of my tool purchases are...) and I don't remember where I got it any more.  But here are some available today that I found on the Intertubes:

• http://www.uline.com/Product/Detail/H-241/Cable-Tie-Guns-Mounts/Economy-Cable-Tie-Gun, $16.  This looks like mine, but I'm sure I paid less than this
• http://www.amazon.com/Eastwood-Professional-Cable-Wire-Tie/dp/B006ISG5M0/ref=pd_sim_sbs_auto_1, $14.99.  This one looks like a better tool than mine
• http://www.amazon.com/Electra-Force-89605-Automotive-Tension-Settings/dp/B002CWPYBO/ref=pd_sim_sbs_auto_4, $6.95

The bottom line is that these things are incredibly cheap, they allow you to pull and cut a wire tie in a restricted space using only one hand, and they do a better job than you can do by hand.  You need to have one on board.

Tie shooter