brass pole pitting?

Dancing Paws started this discussion · 2/12/2012

I was looking really closely at my brass pole tonight, and noticed all these dots that had some green oxidation on them. I cleaned my pole with soap and water, then 50% ditilled vinegar to get the patina off, then soap and water again. I cannot get the dots to wipe off. They look silvery with a patina around them and they are EVERYWHERE! Whenever I pole, I wipe my pole down with 70% rubbing alcohol afterwards, so I'm not sure why it is pitting. Any ideas on how to stop it? I cannot get some of the fingerpring marks off cuz they are pitting themselves. UH!

33 replies

Dancing Paws · 2/12/2012
Here is a picture! OMG is this red rot?? https://www.studioveena.com/photos/view_photo/4f38719e-1834-4f0f-90cf-50880ac37250
Aviva · 2/12/2012
Have you polished it with brass polish stuff? (Technical term there 😉)
Dancing Paws · 2/12/2012
Nope. I heard girl on here just used vinegar or lemon juice. I may get some, but I have no idea if it will fix this.
Dancing Paws · 2/12/2012
Here is a pic of a really bad spot. I think it is red rot, or something like it. In the lighting in my dining room is just looked like a patina, so I left it alone, but if I take a flashlight to it it is pink like copper! https://www.studioveena.com/photos/view_photo/4f387ba8-1720-4e9b-927c-76580ac37250 https://www.studioveena.com/photos/previous/4f387ba8-1720-4e9b-927c-76580ac37250
TrixieLovett · 2/12/2012
Where is Chemgoddess??? She will know...
chemgoddess1 · 2/13/2012
I would contact Erica right away. I looked up red rot and if this is indeed that you are screwed. I have never seen this but then again, I am not a huge fan of brass poles. I cannot even begin to think how this would have happened (plus the location is odd). You can try mixing equal parts salt and flour then adding vinegar to make a paste and using this on your pole. (Thanks Trixie) Again, call Erica ASAP and get this taken care of NOW. You have not had this pole that long.
chemgoddess1 · 2/13/2012
Forget using vinegar....it may possibly make the problem worse.
Dancing Paws · 2/13/2012
I did read the vinegar can cause red rot AFTER I cleaned it. That was the first time I cleaned it ithe vinegar, so it isn't the cause. I did wipe it down twice more with soap and water, so hopefully that got the vinegar off. E-mailing Erica now with pix.
chemgoddess1 · 2/13/2012
Yeah, that was what I was implying. A mild acid solution (vinegar or citric acid) helps in cleaning the tarnish off brass but can make matters worse if indeed you have dezincification.
MadisonsWorld · 2/16/2012
Let us know what happens and what PS says...I was wanting a brass pole,but don't want this to happen...altho I have worked with brass before,have never seen this..and the brass poles were @ a club,so they were used a lot..good luck..
Dancing Paws · 2/16/2012
I am waiting for Kevin and Keith to get back, but Janice told me to try brasso and see what happens. I did try it, and it removed the pink color and shined up my pole, but the pole is still covered in dull yellow marks where the pink color was. It looks like splash marks, dots (freckled everywhere), and fingerprints EVERYWHERE. You can only see it when you shine a light on it, otherwise the dim light in my dining room hides it and the pole just looks shiny. I'm going to see if I can find a brass manufacturer to ask about this (by the suggestion of Chemmie.)
Dancing Paws · 2/16/2012
Talked to Kevin. He said to try brasso again, but really give it a lot of elbow grease. I'll try that again today and see if that gets rid of the dull yellow marks. He also recommended using Nevr-dull polish. I'm going to get some and see what that does. I'll let you know what happens.
Dancing Paws · 2/16/2012
Tried more brasso. That didn't do anything. Then I tried nevr-dull. That buffed some spots a little bit, but it didn't get the whole mark off. I spent 45 minutes on the lower half of 1/4 of my pole and only managed to dull some of the marks. I think it would take me HOURS to get the pole all buffed up and mark-free (if that's even possible.) Meh. I think I am at the point where I will just try to maintain the pole with brasso every 3 weeks or so and clean my pole often (maybe the air is doing something to it.)
MadisonsWorld · 2/16/2012
What abt the large mark @ the bottom? Did that go away?
Dancing Paws · 2/16/2012
Yeah that one is gone. There is freckling all over that I can't fully get rid of though.
Tali Kat · 2/17/2012
Ugh! Nightmare! Let us know how you go!! :(
moonflower · 2/17/2012
What have you used on your pole before you notice it? Tarnishing and coloured spots are normal with brass poles but pitting i have never seen. I've used vinegar on my hands and it hasn't caused any problems. The vinegar combined with the salt on your skin will cause your pole to tarnish a little but that's normal on a brass pole. Tarnish is a surface reaction and the tarnishing actaully stops itself once a thick enough layer is formed, this layer protects the brass underneath from the elements. This is the reason why very old brass items can be polished back to a brilliant shine. The same reason why a real brass pole is for life, even if it is completely covered with tarnish, the brass underneath is stellar. Small amount of tarnish comes off very easily with brasso. The large spot at the base looks like normal wear and tear that happens with brass. It should come off easily (as it did) and you should expect to get them here and there. But pitting (where corrosion has penetrated the metal) has me boggled. Sometimes the brass cleaner themselves can add to the pitting if the PH is too low, as the acid etches into the metal. I would be wary of over polishing it. Do you remember leaving any chemicals on the poles?
Dancing Paws · 2/17/2012
All I used was 70 percent running alcohol to clean it. I put vinegar in my hands once. That's all I did! There is no reasonable explanation for the deteriorating spots. All I can think is I didn't wipe my pole well enough after poling. The only time I ever used Braddock or polish was this week after discovering the marks.
moonflower · 2/17/2012
Not wiping the pole often should not make such a difference. I don;t wipe my pole down often either as I find a slightly dirty pole is grippier. Do not brasso every 3 weeks. Brass polishes work by removing and therefore smoothing down the top layer. Try just cleaning it with 70/30 methylated spirits and water after use and that's it. Don;t worry too much about little discolouring for a while and see how the pitting look after. Don;t over use brass polish as it is abrasive. Just relax about it for a while and see how it is after a few weeks of use. I'll worry if the pits are getting deeper, but if it's just colour then i wouldn't worry. Last thing I'll want to do is make it worse by doing too much to it.
PoleDollqld · 2/18/2012
I'm no expert but water & metal sounds like a bad idea. I know meth is supposed to be water soluble but do any chemistry buffs out there (in SV land ) know for sure? When i used water & meth ( 90 /10 mix) the pole became so slippery!! Then when i stopped using water , it was like magic :) Haven't had any damage to the pole but would be a good idea to know lol! Thank you :)
moonflower · 2/18/2012
@ PoleDollqld Brass is a non ferrous metal that is often used along with copper in plumbing/water pipes. so I would think that water shoudl not be a problem as long as nothign corrosive is in it. But I'm no pro, maybe Chemgoddess can chime in. I DO know that ammonia corrodes brass very well. When I made brass props for costumes, I would hang new shiny brass pieces over ammonia and the fumes alone will tarnish and age the piece in only a few short hrs. This is why I reccommend only polishing brass poles occasionally when they are over tarnished, many brass polished contain ammonia. I think brasso removed the ammonia from their products in some countries though.
PoleDollqld · 2/18/2012
Thanks @moonflower . Hopefully Chemgoddess will see this :)
chemgoddess1 · 2/18/2012
Water is not going to be a problem. You would have more influence from the ambient humidity than anything you cleaned your pole with.
Dancing Paws · 2/18/2012
FYI, I went to a studio today that has a few PS brass poles. I looked at their poles and they have the same dull yellow marks and pink etched marks that I do. The only thing is, their poles are 4 years old and have 20 or so girls on them per day, mine doesn't. Theirs had some deeper pin prick sized pits though; mine doesn't. I think it just might be that nature of the brass beast. All the websites I have seem on cleaning brass has said to clean it with soap and warm water. If it needs polishing to use a polisher.
tarah · 2/20/2012
hmmm.. i live in a very humid climate. i have a statue (that is probably brass and copper mostly) that got patina'd very quickly. i guess i will forget about getting a brass pole 🙁

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