Brass number plate restoration question

Just finished a 902 Gondola repaint.
I dismantled the whole car including the 4 brass plates.
I cleaned the plates with a "0000" steel wool. This is a very fine steel wool. I buffed the backs first then did the letter/number sides. I do not apply a lot of pressure just enough to buff up the brass. Seems that the Lionel lettering is very durable as this process does not affect the black lettering/numbers.  After this is done, I clear coat the backs first then after it dries I clear coat the letter/number side. Took picture of the 902 but forgot my cable at work. Below is a #8 that I did.  I also would like to hear from others and on their techniques. So far the process that I do works. Did maany 248 engines and other prewar cars.

For brass I use Mother's Mag, put a little on and buff with a soft cloth. Sometimes I'll use a buffing wheel on a Dremel too. Works great. If you polish off any painted numbers and letters you can touch them up with a steady hand and a good quality small brush. Afterwords I'll use a very light spray of Clear Coat.

Tim

The 0000 steel wool I always use. If you do remove the paint, a Magic Marker felt tip pen will fill in the red or black. You do not have to be careful!! After allowing to dry for 10-15 minutes, use the 0000 steel wool again, this time "lightly' clean off .  Harry

I have used a small amount of Noxon metal cleaner.   Lionel print holds up pretty good but American Flyer number boards or name plates will wipe right off with any of the methods discussed in this post.  

On American Flyer plates one must recognize that the depressed area holding the paint is very shallow, that the edges of these depressions can be easily blurred by any abrasive that is not firmly backed, and on AF plates that are largely black with brass highlights the blackening agent is very exposed to any abrasive used.

On these AF plates I use the hard back cardboard from a note pad to gently apply a brass polish such as Brasso. Very little pressure is used, and once the brass is cleaned up - stop! - and lightly buff with a clean cloth. For me, this method has not caused any loss of the original black paint applied to the lettering/depressed area.

I have not re-painted any Lionel brass plated rolling stock. If the red/black lettering paint was intact I would use my AF technique. If it was necessary to fill in the lettering I would use Testors enamel and immediately wipe off the excess paint. Once thoroughly dried I would use 400/600/?? wet-or-dry sandpaper backed by the cardboard mentioned above (or even glue the wet-or-dry to a tongue depressor) to clean up any paint remaining above the lettering. I would then use Brasso etc. on cardboard to polish the brass followed by buffing with a clean cloth.

Using 0000 steel wool or aggressive polishing with a rag/chemical may blur the edges of the incised lettering, resulting in a loss of detail.

Just a different - but not necessarily better - way of achieving a nicely done brass plate.

Here are a before and after picture of a Prewar 153 that I completed.
When I got the loco it was so heavily painted that the shell was stuck to the chassis.
The number plate were hit with paint remover and lacquer thinner and to my surprise the lettering did not get affected. I do not know if Lionel painted the lettering or used some type of metal blackening. The bras was clear coated to stop future oxidation.

The loco has been finished since this photo was taken with couplers and screw to hold shell to frame.

I tried cleaning up a aluminum letter/number plate from a 512 standard gauge gondola. I was only able to clean it a little. The letter/number were not affected by the process.

I looking for a 902 gondola that I have apart and ready for paint. This has the brass letter/number plates and will do a before and after photos.

If their in ok shape just polish with 0000 steel wool & metal polish then clearcoat.

If they look terrible polish until shiny with steel wool, spray with black paint, steel wool again to remove it (or a sanding block depending on the size), polish, clearcoat.

Usually comes out very well for me.

Thanks everyone for the advice. I tried a test run and had no problem with the lettering. Now to tear everything apart and start the restoration!