Brass wire brush on a keggle

[CanadianQuaffer]

Hey guys,

Can I use a brass wire brush attachment for a drill on a keggle to clean/buff it without any adverse effects?
I'm not looking for a mirror finish, but something that looks clean and smooth(ish)

Cheers,

Nick

 

[outside92129]

What are you trying to clean/grind/remove? Small scratches would be best with a polishing wheel, larger scratches with sanding pads. If you have slag from welding maybe a flap wheel followed by the 2 previous.

 

[CanadianQuaffer]

It's just a used Sanke with all the usual scratches from being well loved.
Some small rust spots and sticker residue, too.

I'm not looking for perfect, though, just clean.

 

[mavrick1903]

If you use brass, it's likely that you'll leave behind a patina from the brass, on the keg. just a heads up.

 

[outside92129]

stainless is a pretty soft metal and if you use a powerful wire wheel, like on an angle grinder, you'll leave tiny pit marks from the individual wires. Maybe a drill based wire wheel would do, but then i'd use a stainless wheel. Sanding it down would do as well, also the flap disk would do nicely. If it's just rust from other sources some Bar Keeper's Friend (i've seen it at home depot), stickers you can use goo-gone. There's a bunch of other threads on here about stickers too.

 

[CanadianQuaffer]

OK guys thanks. I think I'll return the brass brush and get either a SS one or a flap disk. That the 4.5" disks that have a whole bunch of "flaps" of sandpaper arranged in a scale like pattern, right? What grit should I go for? Pretty high, like over 300, right?

 

[outside92129]

Yup, i attached a picture just to confirm. Note the direction of the sanding will be circular and not parallel to the circumference. If you want something that goes with the circumference you'd get a flap wheel. This would only matter if you use a larger grit of course.

Here's a good posting on polishing with some discussion of grit, you can decide how far to take it!
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/polishing-your-keg-more-than-clever-euphemism-54025/

referencing:
http://www.suebob.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=54

 

[CanadianQuaffer]

OK, great, thanks!
Which of the top two would you recommend? Is one better/easier to use than the other?

 

[boscobeans]

Check out the thread a few down from yours:

"polishing your keg" is more than a clever euphemism

bosco

 

[outside92129]

Take a look at the links above and the suebob page, he's got really good info and the discussion thread has details on grit.

As to the flap selection, it depends on what equipment you have, what grit you want, and what you want the final product to look like. I used 36grit on an angle grinder and i can practically cut holes in kegs with it. I obviously don't care what it looks like but it can remove metal fast. If you only have a cordless drill and are more concerned about aesthetics then the flap wheel (not disk) with a finer grit will do better.

 

[Bobby_M]

It all comes down to the desired finish. If you want a brushed finish that follows the circumference around the keg, you'll want the flapper. It would also help to put the keg on a lazy susan so you can spin it. Hold the flapper (chucked into a drill on high speed) against the keg so that it turns the keg on the lazy susan. Obviously you want to let the keg spin but not as fast as the drill can turn it. Once you get a nice finish on that band, move down 2" and do it again.

You can do this with a grinder as well, but you'd want to install a wirebrush wheel that has the abrassive part on the end of the wheel and not a "cup" style unless you want circular patterns.

 

[CanadianQuaffer]

OK, thanks Bobby.
What are your thoughts of SS vs brass wirebrush wheels?

 

[Bobby_M]

I think brass would be OK but just about any wire type is going to embed some tiny particles in the work surface. Brass will put a finer finish on the keg because it's a lot less aggressive than stainless.