Well - who would have thought it - sandpaper (800) does a fine job of removing the solder and sands to clean brass if you sand long enough. The flat surfaces are not too hard - it's the indents that really present a challenge. -- but I'm getting there. Sorry - I'm feeling like I'm hijacking this thread, but it's still the same subject. After sanding I go over it with 0000 steel wool, and then 0 steel wool to polish. Final will be brasso.
Dale
