An Old Navy Tradition

[@stevepotthast4911]

One advantage to being a submariner on a missile boat was that we were submerged for the entire 70 day patrol and couldn't carry Brasso on board since it was an atmosphere contaminant. A lot of the fittings and junction box covers were chromed if not painted.

[@dpv75]

On the Bama-fish we had it on board, but only used it for the ships bell.

[@stevea9604]

We used it aboard my boat…it was back in the late 70’s…I polished our torpedo tubes 👍🏻😎🤩

[@SeanBZA]

Instrument tech, one day the RSM told us to read all the standing instructions. Not a good idea for him to do that, we found a loophole, where, as Instrument techs, we were forbidden to polish our work shoes, because one tech with polished boots had spilled LOX, and had his boots catch fire. MC enabled, we all had a copy of that forever after. I had a compromise, where I would simply use the matt black spray paint on them before parade, to make them look clean, and matt black, no scuffs visible.

[@ssmt2]

I remember when polishing brass underway was still done. I was a Missile Tech in the early 1980s. We had to polish the locking rings on the missile tube access doors in middle and upper level missile compartment. That was ALOT of brass. It was late 1983 or early 1984 when the directive came down that we could no longer have Brasso on board. That made for a lot of happy Missile Techs and Torpedoman.

[@jastrapper190]

It’s also a Marine experience. Starting in boot camp… they familiarize you with “brasso”. And when I was on the LSD Pearl Harbor as an E-2… heading to Iraq in 2003… they set me to “cranking” straight away. Helping the Navy guys maintain their spaces. First the scullery and then the Trash Room. We shined brightwork in the trash room until the Virgin Mary herself would be proud to go into that space and make a plastic pizza.

[@beanssomers7930]

Polishing brass in a space was a good way to make sure everyone was familiar with every square inch of their area. Which gets important every so often... I used to wait till late while in port and sneek up to the pilot house and remove those junction panel lids like you're working on. I would have the paint stripped and get them polished like a piece of jewelry and reinstalled before morning. There was nothing better than hearing the quarter masters realize there was some new piece of brass to polish which they suddenly had responsibilty for.

[@russellhltn1396]

That's evil. :D

[@Vinemaple]

Yes, exactly! Nowadays, both on Fleet Support ships and historical tall ships, there's a deep awareness that if you start polishing something, people will have to keep polishing it for years. Some crews can be very vigilant about controlling what gets polished, and some civilian officers and captains don't want to manage a lot of polishing. I'd say that more licensed personnel would paint a mundane brass fitting rather than would watch closely to make sure it gets polished, but we still have a few of the latter around. EDIT: I just remembered I once was on an Alaska Marine Highway ferry that had the brass railings of the main passenger stairwell, from the car deck to the main deck, completely covered in sinnet. Every time I used that staircase, I would imagine what it must have looked like while people were doing that - they must have used a full spool of seine twine for every strand! Or maybe there are carefully-hidden long splices in the seine twine? You _can_ splice 3-strand seine twine if you've got tape, tweezers, and a way to see what you're doing...

[@SeanBZA]

apprentice my instructor was a practical pistol shooter, so we had every Thursday his pistols to clean. So stripped them down to parts, cleaned them each separately, and then put it back together, including using Brasso to polish the 10 rounds of display ammunition in the carry clip to a mirror finish, along with the barrel being polished as well inside, and reblacking the metal parts.

[@lonniedufour2925]

I was a QM and polished tons of brass!😂

[@Stude59]

Recruit Training Command, San Diego. Sitting around before we were broken up into companies. The Chief comes out of the office and asks, “Who can drive a truck?” Of course a dozen or so hands pop up. Chief says, “Good, then you should be able to drive a paintbrush”.

[@workingguy6666]

"Never volunteer for anything" sure held true.

Ask a Marine who part of a Marine Detachment on a carrier or battleship. We did a lot of polishing and buffing. You become an expert in operating the buffer! Semper Fidelis.

[@bigsarge2085]

We did it in the Army as well, brass door-pulls, kick-plates, etc., etc. Even some Dress uniform accoutrements were brass. Painting rocks, cutting grass with scissors, and more.

[@steveskouson9620]

When I was in, we could get gold plated belt buckles and otjer stuff. Gold does NOT tarnish. steve

[@bigsarge2085]

@@steveskouson9620 Yeah. I joined in 1997, we had the old green Class A's. We were issued brass accoutrements, but could buy gold-plated replacements on our own dime if we chose.

[@charlesmaurer6214]

@@bigsarge2085 Sounds like another reason to call the higher better off guys gold plated officers.

[@JamesKintner]

I always thought it was exaggerated... until I was picking weeds out of concrete with pliers.

[@robertcaruso4083]

In our Barracks in Fort Dix we had to do the pipes in the Latrine and of course our belt bucklet

[@Odin029]

Now we know how Ryan got to be the curator. He polished up the handle of the big front door.

[@salolooo]

He polished up that handle so carefully, that now he is the ruler of the New Jersey...

[@ROBERTNABORNEY]

I had a friend as an Army officer who had been billeted as a Plebe at the Military Academy in an old barracks. So old, that it had been the home to General MacArthur as a cadet. There was a plaque on the door proclaiming it to be so. "My roommate and I felt honored" he said. "Until we realized we had an extra thing to polish"

[@robg9236]

The name you wanted is 'NeverDull'

[@Chew1964]

It’s Nevr-Dull, maggot. Drop and give me twenty.

[@HM2SGT]

​@@Chew1964*_FRONT LEANING REST POSITION...!_*

[@Chew1964]

I’m USN. I don’t speak Jarhead.

[@HM2SGT]

@@Chew1964 🤨 me? If so, you ain't too bright, are completely dense & unobservant & if you served you were probably kicked out with a big chicken dinner & RE4 in under a year... otherwise you'd have noticed I am a Corpsman- you know, Navy Medic? It's in the name kid!

[@imperfectlump6070]

I still have a can. I put my dice in it for role playing.

[@KenR1800]

Working in Lumber at Home Depot, a common "busy work" task was to flat stack the lumber. That is to make it more like a squared off bunk of lumber and less like a pile of pick-up sticks. This did have an actual function as it helps keep the boards from warping into all kinds of modern art forms that nobody wants.

[@lonnywilcox445]

Straight until the customer gets them to the job site at least.

[@robertf3479]

I wish the Home Depot just down the street would learn that one.

[@Kevin-go2dw]

I was a volunteer on a heritage steam railway for over thirty years. When you started as an engine cleaner, the first thing you did in the morning was polish the brass and copper fittings before they got too hot. If you got the chance there was always lots to polish in the cab. Once I qualified as a fireman, the pipework and fittings in the cab got cleaned and polished as time permitted. Not only did it look good for the many visitors, but it was also a way of tracing the pipework to work out what went where. I even carried a bottle of 'Brasso' in my bag, so if I was delayed anywhere for a period I had something to do.

[@foundersrule3496]

Saw a post from Reddit with the title “Brass model of an Iowa class battleship at the Antenna Range, US Navy Electronics Laboratory, San Diego, California”. A description was included…(1949) US Navy Electronics Laboratory, San Diego, California, by the use of miniature ships whose topside structures are precisely scaled counterparts of full-sized naval vessels. The image of the all brass Iowa Class model was unbelievable.

[@BattleshipNewJersey]

Ours is at a truck stop on the Atlantic city parkway.

[@foundersrule3496]

@@BattleshipNewJersey That sounds like a good location to visit.

[@KennyCnotG]

It is a nice rest stop- they have a mock 16" shell for donations, and there's regularly farmera markets or other farm/produce/flower sales/etc. At the rest stop as well. ​@foundersrule3496

[@BGraves]

​@@BattleshipNewJerseyA state highway rest area.

[@russellhltn1396]

Yup. They did models to figure out radiation patterns for the antennas. The antennas on the model were real. The techs used higher frequencies for "scale wavelengths". I think they did that in the 80's as well for the retrofit as computer modeling wasn't powerful enough. I know at one time the Missouri's was in the HNL airport, but I'm not sure as it's still there. I remember looking at it and seeing the coax for the real antennas on the model.

[@BoredBob]

Always found polishing brass and spit shining boots to be quite meditative.

[@stevea9604]

I did too 👍🏻🤩

[@patobrien7009]

After 4 years I found that one thing I could never master was spit shining shoes!

[@Colonel_Obvious]

Retired now, but I hated when the Army changed from black boots to rough out boots. It was truly meditative, and I liked that we could maintain our boots to last longer.

[@BoredBob]

@@Colonel_Obvious With the exception of desert boots when I was stationed in Egypt and a few deployments and mickey mouse boots that they made us take to Bosnia but never used I guess I missed that change over. Didn't mind the desert boots too much as they were pretty comfortable but the soles wore out quicker and that sucked. Still have a foot locker full of jump boots, regular boots, and jungle boots. I came in just at the change over from the old pickle suit to camo and I think I still actually have one pair. Also retired just in time to be able to make it all the way through to the must have date of the new (at the time) pt uniform so managed to miss that change as well. (82-04)

[@BoredBob]

@@patobrien7009 I sort of learned in basic and AIT but I really learned how from our barracks "house boy" (Dude was twice my age at least) when I went to Korea for my first duty assignment.

[@CSSVirginia]

Used to work in a fire station that had been built in the 1920s. Every Tuesday we polished brass. Yes, the pole included.

[@nigozeroichi2501]

I learned very early on, find something to do before someone FINDS you something to do and it's guaranteed you WON'T like what they find for you to do, there is ALWAYS something that needs doing, plus it passes the time.

[@HM2SGT]

& *_always_* leave some a small imperfection for them to find and gig you for so they don't put real scrutiny into finding something & discovering something serious!

[@dalemilton5773]

taught my kids that. now my daughter is married to a career sailor & they have 3 kids. the tradition continues!

[@charlesmaurer6214]

One tip on cleaning brass for a finer finish, Keep a bit of ammonia based Windex with you when the residue from the basso gets tough to wipe back off spray a part of a clean rag then finish with a dry section. Also over time sun will change the finish on brass. I did a lot in a church for a few years and the sun actually left a shadow line on the plate from the handle on a few of the doors. Most brass cleaners are ammonia based and "like cleans like" is why with heavy work the Windex really helps. The Church I worked for had a lot of brass and many plates on doors were as brown as the brown paint on the rest the door when I started while others were kept bright on the main floor. It was time intensive but over the few years I was there each plate got a proper clean at least once. While you didn't want to mention what that smells like, one can just think of a men's room urinal wall. Don't make a habit of mixing cleaners but read the active ingredients and if two are the same base they can often be used together safely alternating to avoid tough build ups resistant to cleaning. I do start with the caution though because mixing some cleaners can be deadly and the reactions creates gases that can be dangerous. Also on that line Windex has an ammonia free version that will not work as I described. In the church our go to cleaners were often Ammonia based from wipes, to glass and surface cleaners. Vinegar and water was an alternate for glass when doing large areas, there were times we used bleach for some jobs and a citrus oil cleaner for wood.

[@Vinemaple]

Oh, gad, yes! Windex! That was the secret ingredient! That was what I did to the bell! Thank you so much, I forgot all about that!

[@stonebear]

Citrus oil cleaner is da bomb! Not just wood, either. They make a general purpose orange cleaner, and before I went scentfree on the laundry I used to use grapefruit-based laundry powder. Worked a treat!

[@HM2SGT]

*This reminds me of a story about a very important person that did inspections as part of his visit. Supposedly he said he thought all the facilities he visited just naturally smelled like fresh paint...!*

[@TheMohnus723]

Hey Mr. Szimanski, indont know if you even remember me today, but as you were leaving the Battleship, i actually saw you and pointed you out to my friend."Hey, look, its the museum Curators!" Do you remember me? If not, its all cool, it enjoyed the visit today to Battleship New Jersey. All the staff were incredibly polite and respectful and thats a huge part of what made my visit so great. One of your staff members actually gave me and my friend a tour of the Magazine and Powder room below Turret 2 and even the fire control and CIC. It was awesome to see the New Jersey, I hope I can come back soon!

[@jarvisfamily3837]

When I was in the service the standard-issue belt buckle for officers was brass and was required to be kept polished. Was happy when I reported aboard ship and learned that I could wear a belt buckle purchased from the ship's store which had the ships name and motto and crest on it - and since it was chromed it never had to be polished. 🙂

[@x1heavy]

I grew up on the Constellation. I recall its original ballast that may have been taken from the original Constellation way back in the beginning. Constellation was rebuilt several times in my lifetime. I was told part of my family is Issac as a family ancestor and Constellation may have had a Captain Issac. But I have no way of knowing if theres any connection at all. Maybe someday I will dig deeper. Ive been around the Baltimore Ships in my time and found the Taney to be one with the best connection, she was at sea in the 70's on hurricane station in 70-80 mph winds riding a bad sea sending real time storm reports which eventually affected Ocean City in my day that week. that was my first big storm in life. One of many. Taney has the hull to ride storm seas. Brass is not bad work at all. There are other works that would always have to be done on a ship. I went into trucking and was away for a long time. Now I am in hospice and would not be able to visit again I dont think. These videos form a connection through the creator and boss man of the New Jersey Museum which is wonderful. I appreciate the videos and look forward to more.

[@libraeotequever3pointoh95]

Have a safe trip, Driver.

[@CameronMcCreary]

Ryan I used to use Brasso for brass polishing but since the company changed the formulation to satisfy the environment restrictions under the law, I now use Simichrome paste polish for brass polishing.😊 For cartridge case polishing I use crushed walnut shells coated with brass polishing compound that will stick to the walnut hulls in my bead blaster.

[@tonyInPA]

When my son was a cadet at Virginia tech he said (for the same reason) forget the brasso, i need Mothers chrome polish! (Iirc)

[@gregoryfaith4303]

I remember my ship had a stockpile of "Never Dull" Metal Polish. I used a few pieces to polish a 3in gun shell casing I grabbed before two spent shells were spared from being thrown over the side during the guns last firing before being removed and replaced with a TOMAHAWK MISSILE LAUNCHER SET. That stuff works great! I still to this day own those two casings and an aluminum 5 in spent casing off of the USS Long Beach gun.

[@thomasgoodwin2648]

Believe it or not, ketchup (yes yes, red sauce, squeeze bottle) works on brass. At least it works on brass cymbals, which is how we accidentally discovered it (food accident in the living room studio). Wipe on, let it sit for a little while (maybe 10-30 minutes maybe, not really sure what optimum is), wipe off, repeat if necessary. At 1st it was just 2 blobby clean spots, but we sacrificed enough ketchup to clean the rest of the symbol. It was fun watching the drummer go from ticked off, to astonished , to ecstatic in under an hour. No promises, but I know what I saw.

[@robertf3479]

Our mess decks guys had responsibility for (very old Navy tradition at work here) the Ship's Bell. They swore by "Texas Pete's Hot Sauce" to get the job done.

[@Ganiscol]

Its the mild tomato acid (and probably the loads of sugar crystals in ketchup function as an abrasive agent) that makes it work. Certain toothpaste also works for super fine mirror finish on soft metals like aluminium or to touch chrome coating and is cheaper than car polish. 😉

[@frankchan4272]

I remember hearing that in Sea Scouts & we tried it before but ketchup attracts flies so we stopped using that.

[@GuillermoHernandez-mu5mj]

Any acid will do, in my day it was Tobasco because noone liked it and it was plentiful.

[@thomasgoodwin2648]

Not sure if it's entirely about acids. Tomatoes in particular carry a lot of anti oxidants. Since tarnish is oxidation of the metal, the oxygen released by the acids need some place to go. The tomatoes anti-oxidants provide an easier place to reattach than going back to the metal (and re-tarnishing it), similar to how the aluminum anodes protect the steel hull of the ship.

[@eherrmann01]

My dad was the drummer in a jazz band when I was a kid. He played on weekends, and on Fridays he would make my brother and I Clean his drum kit and Brasso the cymbals. We didn't mind too much because sometimes he would take one of us to a gig and we'd get to sit on a bar stool next to him behind the drum kit while he played and drink Cokes and eat pretzels or bar peanuts. Good memories.

[@oceanmariner]

When I was in the USN as a QM, we had a lot of brass on the bridge. We learned to polish, wipe with acetone to remove the residue, and then use spray varathane and it was good for months or maybe forever. Well worth the cost of the spray for the QMs.

[@JoshuaTootell]

I got masted as an E6. I self assigned myself* to polish brass in the mainships passageway as one of my extra duty assignments. *I basically just suggested the idea to the CPO MAA and he agreed. Not normal to see a First Class polishing brass, and it was right in front of the crew. Also self assigned a job I normally would have assigned to an E3.

[@Plaprad]

I actually got in trouble for polishing stuff on my 130. Had some free time during an ISO and spent hours polishing anything I thought I could get shiny. Turns out, metal with a near mirror finish can be hell when using NOD's at night. So... No more polishing for me. Though, the flight crews loved my hot pink throttles. But that's another story.

[@larrydavis3645]

I polished turnbuckles around our quarter deck on the US Coney DD508 on the mid-watch.

[@rsail-db5zv]

Oh I can still smell the BrassO from working on my dad’s vintage sailboat as a kid! Thanks for the memory!

[@DanFink-jm8md]

When I was COMMO on New Jersey 89-91 we used "Nevr Dull" brass polish, it was basically cotton wadding impregnated with brass polish. We didn't have to wash the polishing rags, as we bought huge bales of rags (torn up old clothing that was recycled) and just threw them away afterwards.

[@nlo114]

I'd imagine polishing brass to have the same calming effect as fishing without bait. You just get on with it, and mull over the week's events.

[@phillyphakename1255]

Add in some good conversations with fellow old farts, and there's something for everyone, the ones who want community and the ones who want meditation.

[@briancisco1176]

In the US Army, busy work was often "policing the area"--making sure every cigarette butt and scrap of litter was picked up!

[@MrTherende]

When my dad was a seaman on the USS Troilus (AKA 47) in WW2, he was assigned to the bridge, one day he'd polish the wheel and the binnacle, the next day, he'd have to paint it and the third day, he'd have to strip off the paint. It all depended on who the OOD was.

[@keitheckensviller250]

I was in the army for 23 + years. My branch was very particular about stuff being "shiny"! Boots, shoes and yes all the brass fixtures, fitting and adornments in the barracks. Kick and sill plates on doors. Door knobs, drawer handles etc. Oh and the granite floors in the main hallway. We used a big 1 quart /1 lirer bottle of government supplied metal polish. Yeah that smell....... I know it well. As punishment it's routine to have miscreants polish off the black on the grommets of our old style web belts, which are brass and have them shine said grommets. As for busy work, cleaning vehicles in the vehicle compound. Polishing shovels, axes, and mauls in the CQ stores shop.

[@bobgehrls8538]

in the USAF basic training at Lackland AFB, we had a brass part of the dorm. One guy was assigned to polish it. He stated "You step on my brass, I'll kick your ass". T/H Squadron 3702 Flight 666. (June 1976). My redundant task: Strip and polish the floors to our shop. Useless but required task.

[@mikezimmermann89]

During my (thankfully brief) time living in barracks (ROTC Advanced Camp), my platoon had a special two-man team for floor polishing. The biggest, strongest guy in the platoon “drove” the floor scrubber/buffer, the littlest guy in the platoon would perch on top of the floor buffer where his weight would increase the pressure of the buffer on the floor and get the polishing done faster. Hysterical to watch, but it was effective.

[@BruceMusto]

Never-dull!!!

[@esmith3329]

paint rocks, weed the troop walk, dig a hole - move said hole to another location, cut the "grass" (actually gravel area) with a push-mower, strip the floors and then re-wax them 3x, flip the painted rocks and then paint them some more. pick up cigarette butts, pick up dog poop in the on base housing areas because the residents won't and the CG says we have to (Soldiers, yeah, I was Army)

[@josephkanowitz6875]

ב''ה, why do you want everyone to be homeless and starving? How does this make your lives better?

[@garbo8962]

While in a laid back easy going helicopter in Viet Nam with only a hundred Americans and lots of ass kicking ROK Marines they heard we were going to have our first & only inspection so every enlisted man not flying was on detail. They gave two of us 1" wide paint brushes to paint maybe 40 1' high wooden poles on dirt road in front of orderly room. After we gave them a coat of paint asked the E6 in charge what he wanted us to do next. Told us to give them another coat of paint. Kept telling us to give them another coat of paint. By that time there was a puddle of paint around each pole. Sat next to the only pole that was in the shade and sat on my ass and very slowly painted that pole for next couple of hours. Reminded me of when we had to clean our M16 's at the end of boot camp. Even after cleaning them for two hours none passed inspection so I stopped taking mine up next 3 or 4 hours for inspection. After most passed inspection right before diner took mine up and the drill sergeant told me outstanding job .Never smoked but every morning in AIT entire company had to pick up dirty cigarette butts around company area and woods behind our barracks rain or shine.

[@garywagner2466]

@@josephkanowitz6875, put your bong down. Go for a walk.

[@StarGazer568]

I was a quartermaster on the USS SPRUANCE (DD-963) as a member of the commissioning crew. The brass on the bridge was painted over, but our CO was a fan of brass, so he directed that all those fittings be stripped and polished. The biggest item was the hood on the ship's binnacle, which was in the center of the bridge and it seemed like everyone that walked by had to touch. Everything had to be polished on the forenoon watch after sunrise. That binnacle was a bear to polish, because all the acids and oils from everyone who touched it had a chance to etch it. When the ship was decommissioned, the USN on the quarterdeck bell was unreadable. But I miss those days and love to see shiny brass myself. I have a brass bell in my office and I keep it shined.

[@klsc8510]

One of the Bay details when I was in Technical Training at Keesler AFB, MS was polishing the hall brass. Tomorrow, Ryan will instruct us in the proper way to coil 500 feet of Shore Line!

[@kmbbmj5857]

I was Air Force, not Navy, but probably the biggest time waster we got was doing a FOD walk through field and forest. Now I understand the importance of a FOD walk for flight ops, but this was no where near a flight line, nor, for that matter, even near roads or buildings. It was 20,000 acres of forest and wetland.

[@user-bc9zn6zg6j]

We did the FOD walk when I was stationed on a carrier

[@BruceMusto]

My first ship, a Knox class frigate, USS Whipple FF-1062. AS Division (Sonar Techs, Gunners Mates (Asroc type), Torpedomen) was responsible for the port side 01 level as sonar control was on the 01 level and we had a WTD opening onto the weather deck. That meant that underway, every morning sweepers, the bright work (turnbuckles) had to be shined. Fun times.

[@peteroleniacz4432]

Never dull, bug juice, or Tabasco all work good for polishing brass...also another job we used to do as busy work was to grab a rag and wipe up oil in the engineering spaces...

[@TheRealGraylocke]

As an Army Veteran, I've had my fair share of polishing brass, thank you very much,

[@Vickyvee97]

We appreciate that you uploaded a video even though its just polishing brass. Reminds me of when I used to polish his swmi trucks chrome (he did pay me though) when i qas in my early to mid teens . If we were at a truck stop and if i was polishing i could easily get a few truck driver's to polish their rigs and easily make 200 bucks for a few hours worth of work. In 93 that was ALOT for a 13 year old. In fact it was so nice that when I got a real job I didn't realize that they paid so crappy compared to polishing.

[@bikecommuter24]

Old days in the Navy at Bootcamp according to my Dad and Uncle who both served in the Navy. They said new recruits were told If it moves salute it, if it doesn't paint it unless its brass then you polish it. I'm a USAF veteran "busy work" as we called it was usually a social time we did it together so there was a lot kidding, talking stuff about one another, I was an Aircraft Jet Engine Mechanic I didn't do much busy work I was either taking engines apart or putting them back together that was my busy work. Fun fact my whole family served in the military or was associated Dad U.S Navy Mom worked at the USO that is how she met Dad also Mom's little sister met and married a Navy Man. four kids Oldest Daughter and me the youngest son both Served in the USAF, My oldest sister met her husband in the USAF, one of their Sons served in the USAF Older Son USMC Youngest Daughter U.S Army

[@michaelsommers2356]

On my ship, the deck force even painted the antennas that said, "DO NOT PAINT" on them.

[@mikereinhardt4807]

Sounds like my family, a lot of fun at the Thanksgiving dinner passing out barbs about rival serices...

[@mikereinhardt4807]

A friend of mine likes to tell the story of him knocking on the XO's door of the aircraft carrier he seeved on in order to take advantage of his open door policy. Evidently he didn't follow protocol and ended up cleaning toilets for 72 hrs without sleeping. Ahh military life and its humorous stories. LOL!...

[@Anti_Woke]

[UK, ex-Army] Guilty secret - polishing brass is an endless task but one I always found quite satisfying. The shine you get is so impressive.

[@That_Stealth_Guy]

I can not confirm nor deny that I may have polished the hubcaps on my F-117A (#813) when I was a young Airmen. Some other guys went so far as to polish the hydraulic lines in the wheel wells as well as the switches in the cockpit.(#803). The last time I saw those switches in 2008 they were still shining bright from being polished from back in the early 1990's, probably still are.

[@matthewriggins9533]

In my decades of service i polished a lot of brass and bronze. We would polish fire nozzles in the VIP spaces, and when they would "disappear" we would go an a search to find it. Being airdates we were smart enough to make the space number inside to be able to claim them. Great memories.

[@VintageCarHistory]

In my Navy days, we used a lot of bug juice ('kool ade' powder) and dunked brasswork- especially fire hose nozzles- in a very concentrated bucket of non-sweetened bug juice and let the citric acid do its job.

[@jamesstark8316]

We used bug juice to clean the deck plates in the main spaces. Worked great.

[@HM2SGT]

I think I remember hearing that grape worked best. Or was it orange?

[@reverendthumper]

I was taught to polish brass as a volunteer at the Intrepid Museum so this brings back memories. But a lot of brass on that ship had been painted over.

[@KevinT3141]

I do recall seeing lots of shiny brass mystery bits on my tour two weeks ago, it definitely stood out. Thanks brass team!

[@Not.The.Avg.Smitty]

Was one surprising you with a b-day foam insulation beating, hog tied, thrown into the a sink that's filling, while they sing happy birthday really slow?.. Tiger cruise 93 on AD-37 was the greatest birthday I ever had... ever! Also got 1st place overall on the obstacle course.😉

[@josephpadula2283]

USN officer training 1975, Omnes Viri . We had to remove the Lacquer on the visible parts , front , our brass belt buckles and then polish it . The coating was called Quartermaster for some reason …,, Everyone just did the sides that were visible but our former Marine classmate kept both sides shined front and back . When questioned on why he put this work into something that wasn’t inspected or required ? You wipe your “ behind” don’t you and nobody sees that Right?! He did not say the words in quote exactly .

[@jiubboatman9352]

I love polishing brass and stainless steel. As a barman, I would clean beer pump heads or dispenser bars whenever the bar was quite.

[@johnmcgrath7668]

When I was in the RAF going through trade training at RAF Brize Norton we were informed that her majesty the queen was going to be visiting. We were immediately told to start polishing all the brightwork. I was detailed to paint the grass green, due to a long hot dry summer it had turned brown.

[@ROBERTNABORNEY]

I've been using Brasso since I was a freshman Army ROTC cadet polishing my brass fifty years ago. I swear by it!

[@JohnBare747]

In the Army the worst busy work/retribution I was ever given that almost resulted in the homicide of a particular Cook was wheb I was made to clean out the Grease Trap in the Mess Hall Kitchen. The most disgusting revolting job ever given to me. So I ended up with three big buckets of smelly stinky grease and asked the Cook "Now what do I do with this?" He almost forfeited his life on the spot by replying to me, "It's grease pour it into the grease trap!" The job was given to me as retribution by a pissed off cook for me bringing in a bucked of coal from the coal pile outside in a snow storm and there was snow on the coal that melted sitting next to the coal fired stove so he did not know about it and when he poured the bucked of coal in there it exploded when that water hit the coal fire and a shower of sparks and coal ash showered down on everything including a huge bot of stew and he just casually stirred in the ash in the stew. I passed on the stew when we ate after chow service was over. Good thing as the grease trap would have relieved the stew from me just from the stench.

[@dutchman7216]

Thank you Ryan for your hard work.

[@6502Assembler]

I spent a LOT of hours polishing the door handles of the RTC Orlando Chapel... with a can of brasso and a rag. LOL Many hours.. You scuff it, you buff it, you smear it, you clear it.

[@adstaton8461]

Mind the bright work gentlemen. That's the brass and the glass. You scuff it, you buff it. You smear it, you clear it!

[@sirwholland7]

Bright work!

[@fredmanicke5078]

At Glacier National Park, pre-war, there used to be a thing called ‘Bells on Passes’. Old steam locomotive bells had been installed at the summit of the several passes over the Continental Divide so that hikers making the summit of the could ring the big brass bells to let others know they had topped the summit. WW 2 scrap drive for metals caused the park to remove the bells to use in the war effort. So the brass you just polished could have had higher ‘tone’ than sea level. Have a good day from Northwestern Montana.

[@beermonger1]

I used to have to run crates and crates of welding torches and regulators across a wire wheel to spruce 'em up a bit. Yay the fun of reconditioning equipment.

[@barrygeekler6458]

side cleaner was just as fun!

[@thereverendcoyote]

I went to Ft. Bliss for basic training, There busy work was raking the rock beds so to as they put it, to sun the other side. (Ft. Bliss is in the desert). You also plucked out any grass that is starting to grow.

[@briannicholas2757]

I attended Norwich University, which us a military college. We were forever polishing brass, and shoes. A good substitute for some metal polishes is regular Colgate tooth paste. And it has a nice minty smell versus that nasty brass smell. Funny story: I lived in the oldest dorm on campus, Alumni Hall. And early one year, when I was the cadet Fire Marshal my senior year, the fire alarms sounded. It was late in the evening, and everyone had to evacuate into the cold Vermont night. My Master Sergeant, corporal and I went through the building but found no smoke, evidence of a fire, or even a pulled alarm. So I had to question the Officers and NCOs. After about an hour, we found out what it was . There were old brass, heat detectors in the ceilings on one floor. They were green/black with age and one young Rook (a freshman cadet), who was preparing for the next day's room inspection, decided to Brasso the detectors dome. Needless to say, the friction of erasing decades of brass tarnish and grime, increased the temperature and subsequently tripped the heat alarm. The next day I had to publish a general order, to be read out at all company formations, telling the cadets not to polish the heat sensors.

[@foundersrule3496]

Saw a post from Reddit with the title “Brass model of an Iowa class battleship at the Antenna Range, US Navy Electronics Laboratory, San Diego, California”. Edit: Iowa class model at the antenna range, Pt Loma, Navy Electronics Laboratory. The model is made of wood and plated in brass. The model is 18'6" long, 27.5" wide and weighs 550 pounds. Edit: Popular Mechanics 1959 story on NEL. Story starts on page 81. More photos of the model makers and additional models used.

[@charlestuozzolo7283]

Removing vertigris from valves (on a submarine) was a very pleasant task! More difficult than polishing brass.

[@politicsuncensored5617]

I would say & bet that the military folks that volunteers each Sat. don't miss so much polishing brass or doing the decks. They miss their fellow shipmates and the ships that once was our home. Shalom

[@robertf3479]

The Ship's Bell is usually the responsibility of the Mess Decks cooks, or was in my day. One thing that our Mess Cooks used that shined that thing up nice and bright was Texas Pete's Hot Sauce. Ain't kidding. During one North Atlantic exercise we had some guys from other Nato navies riding with us and the Norwegian sailors couldn't believe our guys used the stuff.

[@45035]

When we ( The USS Kitty Hawk CV-63) were in drydock back in 1982( I think. ) well anyway I could walk around on the ship to aeras that I normally couldn`t go to. One was the brig. Thats where They keep the sailors who were in trouble. There was a big brass pipe that was shining like gold. They tell me that the Marines ( that's who was in charge of the brig in 1982) would make the sailors polish the pipe all the time. WOW that pipe was shiny. Glad I never had to go there for being in trouble.

[@stonebear]

My favourite bit of busy work - I attended private school for a few years and part of our tuition was sweat equity - was, our gym floor was this gorgeous parquet, kinda like Madison Square Garden, and I could usually wangle my way into getting to take the big dust mop and polishing that. Easy, meditative work, like mowing grass only not as sweaty, but usually took long enough that that was the only task I'd get assigned for the day.

[@ROBERTNABORNEY]

During the Napoleonic wars, the Royal Navy made the stack from a ship's stove was made of copper. A certain Captain Charles Noble was famous (notorious) for insisting that the one on any ship he commanded was polished within an inch of its life, gleamed in the sun and you could shave using it as a mirror. To this day, the galley stack on a British warship is the "Charlie Noble"

[@Tsyroc]

People mentioned Never Dull being removed from ships because of how flammable it is. Another product that was flammable that was highly used on aircraft carriers was glass wax. Used a lot for the inside and outside of aircraft glass. I've run across reformulated versions that clean glass about as well but I miss the old stuff.

[@tolson57]

Ryan, save yourself a buttload of time, polish them once really well and them spray them with clear gloss acrylic. Did that on the Kitty Hawk and didn't have to polish brass in our spaces for 2 years. Did the same thing on the Ranger with the same result.

[@henrycarlson7514]

I was Ranger Cv 61 77-80. Cat Steam Mostly

[@homeonegreen9]

No they want to polish more!

[@tolson57]

@@henrycarlson7514 I was on the Constellation during that time. I was on the Ranger 91-93.

[@henrycarlson7514]

@@tolson57 Did you se the time that all 4 carriers were at North island at the same time? As trivia , how did they compare ? Thank You . Bird farms Rule

[@PaulSteinmayer]

When I was aboard the USS Ranger CV-61, I had to polish brass... and if we were lucky, we were handed a can of NeverDull, which had the polish infused in cotton wadding in the can! But fortunately, on carriers, there isn't much brass in the yellow gear (GSE), so the worst busy work we did was needle-gunning rust! That usually sucked!!!

[@jochenreichl796]

When the brass outside tarnishes too quickly, you can rub some white wax on it with a clean rug. It will produce an invisibly thin layer and fill in microscratches, so it will take much longer to tarnish again.

[@gilbertmaxwell3891]

We used Tabasco Sauce, a wire brush, and cheese cloth to polish brass in our space on USS Constellation CV-64.

[@BrianFullerton]

Brasso also works on copper pipes in heads on certain shore stations. I was able to assist on such important work in both Newport and Annapolis during a couple of steamy summers.

[@user-xs4cj9dh4l]

Brightwork!

[@DavidSmith-cx8dg]

The pelorus and most brightwork in bridge areas usually shines , other parts maybe not so much , although some equipment was supplied painted or bare brass or aluminium depending on the manufacturer . If I finished an installation early enough I quite liked to give any brightwork cases a polish before inspection . It certainly gives a good impression .

[@DavidSmith-cx8dg]

Incidentally I was once working a weekend and witnessed a Christening in a beautifully polished ships bell . An old tradition and lovely to see the names engraved .

[@josefhyatt2780]

As an Amtrac'er USMC 1833, When aboard ship, we'd assist the ships Bosun and bosun's mates with maintaining the well deck, as that's where we park our AAVs... this meant cleaning out clover leafs ...

[@charlesdeyoe1301]

Ryan, could you do a video about the different volunteer teams you have on board? It is really cool you have different things volunteers can take ownership of on the ship.

[@raymondpetersen8335]

I remember using shoe polish and a tooth brush to blacken every non-skid strip on the ladders and inner decks. Looked sharp against the freshly waxed decks.

[@Raymail-tj4cf]

I was ARMY Infantry. We polished brass. The most important time would be if we were on Funeral duties. We put 3 polished brass casings in the flag before it was presented to the family.

[@RetiredSailor60]

As a former Deck Ape, shined a lot of brass on the foc's'le while stationed on USS Semmes DDG 18 1983-84.

[@StephenMartin-pc1fo]

When I visited USS Bowfin yes, shiny brass, blinding. HMS Onslow dull, not much brass. Our work boat, the skipper ex-Real navy. polished the portholes nice and shiny. He went on leave and his replacement painted over the portholes. Upon his return BOOM went the skipper. Yeap he removed the paint and polished the brass. Old habits. Stephen

[@dieheart369]

My least favorite busy work I was ever forced to do, was salting the snow. Snow just kept coming down faster than you could clear it with a shovel, so they said just throw some salt down. All it did was turn it to ice. Then had to go out with the shovel and a mallet to clear it once it finally stopped.

[@Kyfordman1989]

Yeah, as an E1 and E2 I shine many turnbuckles. I don’t know about the New Jersey, but on my ship, the Davison our lifelines were made of copper and we will get bug juice off the deck and put it in a 5 gallon bucket and roll our lines in that let it set and they will come out shinylike copper

[@tomtucker3193]

What I remember as a kid I was given Blue Coral to polish my dad’s 1952 Plymouth Clipper.

[@justcause3254]

It’s called polishing the brightwork. When I was in boot, the saying was, “If it’s dirty, clean it. If it’s clean, polish it. If it’s polished, keep it that way!”

[@lowblues]

I was also on missile boats (subs)in the early 80’s. One of the jobs we had to always do was clean and dry the bilges. Hated that job. But they were checked every 6 hours and you couldn’t get out of doing it. Until, we did a northern patrol and the water froze. Would not lets us chip out the ice!

[@PaulHarris-sl1ct]

When I was in the Navy there was a PO3 who would spend his late night watches chipping paint from the junction box covers and bunny tubes. Then he would send us to work polishing them during the day. We all complained. Our Sr Chief said "paint them"

[@LegendaryInfortainment]

Lifeline turnbuckles need lots of Brasso love. Almost endlessly.

[@massmike11]

We polished a lot of brass in the Marine Corps with. Wadding polosh.

[@stevea9604]

I volunteered on Bowfin when she was first brought in to Pearl for refurbishment 👍🏻😎🌞🌊

[@kwscotch]

I was ARMY, but during basic & AIT we had brass fire extinguishers that had to be polished frequently.

[@NathanielStauber]

I polish brass nearly every morning before tours start on my museum ship. We've been trying different brands lately, some having mild or pleasant scents. I had forgotten how pungent brasso is!

[@holdorf333]

i was a tanker and was doing very similar things on the tank. i toured the ship very recently, saw the shiny copper pipes, and knew immediately why they were shiny like that. it was a great detail that i, as a non-navy guy, could relate to and was very much appreciative of.

[@dennisfariello4852]

Being an EM, I never HAD to polish brass. However, for some reason I found it fascinating and would shine the light switch in my shop/office, and my belt buckle, and anything else I came across. Oh yeah, my ashtray made from a 3" shell.