If you've got varnish, stick with soap and water. If you don't, just know that depending on the type of object you're cleaning and how far gone it is, you might need to try a few of these solutions before you find a winner. Once your brass is cleaned up, you can admire yourself in its reflection and toast yourself with a well-deserved cocktail.
Tomato sauce and paste work well because both contain vinegar. Spread a small amount on your brass, and then leave it be for an hour or so. Wipe it clean with soapy warm water and it should be good as new. If stubborn spots remain, repeat the process. Apply a small amount of toothpaste with a clean cloth to your brass. Allow it to sit for a few minutes before rinsing with cold water. Spread the mixture on the brass and allow it to sit for a few minutes. Rinse with cool water and dry.
This method also works on corroded brass. Instead of making a paste, dip a dry cloth in vinegar and then dip in a bowl of salt. Rub the cloth all over your tarnished brass, using a little elbow grease on the particularly distressed areas. This stuff is great for doorknobs or items that get a little more wear and tear than, say, your grandma's brooch. Not feeling the homemade cures? If your house is of a certain age, many of your doorknobs may be brass. Like the metals from which it is made, brass also tarnishes easily.
What is the best way to clean brass? First, you need to determine if your item is, in fact, made of brass. Hold a magnet to your item. If it sticks, the item is not brass, but most likely brass-plated. Use only water and mild detergent to clean brass-plated items, as anything more abrasive could damage the plating. If you have a tarnished or dirty brass piece that needs cleaning, how you do so depends on whether it is lacquered — i.
Lacquered brass can be cleaned simply by wiping with a damp cloth. Cleaning non-lacquered brass requires more elbow grease. Though there are chemical brass cleaners on the market, try using some of these natural ingredients to clean brass, most of which you probably already have at home:. Squirt some ketchup on a clean cloth and rub over tarnished brass. Then wipe clean with a damp cloth and buff dry.
If your brass item is dusty or dirty rather than tarnished, submerging it in warm soapy water and cleaning with a soft cloth could do the trick. Use a toothbrush to gently scrub extra dirty areas. These versatile home staples can be combined to make a paste to clean tarnished brass. Dissolve 1 teaspoon of salt into one-half cup of vinegar, and add flour until the mixture becomes a paste.
Rub the lemon on the tarnished piece, squeezing it as you go to release the lemon juice. Combine equal parts of all three ingredients to create a paste. Apply a thin layer of that paste to the tarnished brass and leave it for an hour before rinsing with warm water and drying. Ketchup, tomato paste, and tomato sauce all work equally well.
Apply a layer to your brass and leave it on for an hour. Then wash with warm water and dish soap. Let it dry. For functional elements, such as locks, hinges, hardware, or light fixtures, Sorenson suggests seeking the help of a professional. Sometimes the beauty of an antique brass object is its tarnish, in which case Sorenson recommends leaving it alone.
By Melissa Minton. Decoration Renovation Conversation Shopping.
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