Home Garden
# Home & Garden >> Housekeeping >> Cleaning Appliances

How to Clean the Rusted Brass Weights in a Grandfather Clock

Brass is a beautiful but delicate metal that tarnishes easily if certain chemicals, such as human body oils, touch it. Grandfather clock brass weights may be simply coated with brass that may tarnish but also rust due to the metal under the brass. The coating on the weight is very thin, which allows for the metal underneath to get exposed to the elements and rust. Place a magnet on the brass weights to determine if it is actually brass, which is not magnetic; the magnet will fall off if the weight is made only of brass.

Things You'll Need

  • Magnet
  • Plastic gloves
  • Lint-free cloth
  • 2 cups warm water
  • 2 tablespoons of mild dish soap
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • Pinch of salt or baking soda
  • Fine-grade steel wool
Show More

Instructions

  1. Brass-plated Weight

    • 1

      Place a magnet on the weight. If the magnet stays attached, the weight is a metal weight with either a brass plating or painted a brass color.

    • 2

      Rub the weight with a fine-grade steel wool in small, gentle strokes to remove the rust spots.

    • 3

      Wipe the weight with a clean, lint-free cloth to remove rust particles and buff the weight.

    Solid Brass Weight

    • 4

      Place a magnet on the weight. If the magnet falls off the weight rather than staying attached, then the weight is solid brass and the rust is actually simply tarnish.

    • 5

      Clean the weight with a solution of 2 cups of warm water and 2 tablespoons of mild dishwashing soap. Clean the weight thoroughly and soak it for 5 to 10 minutes if necessary to remove grime.

    • 6

      Mix 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and a pinch of salt or baking soda into a paste. Rub the paste on the brass grandfather clock weight with a lint-free cloth to polish the brass.

    • 7

      Rinse the weight in warm water until the paste is completely cleared.

    • 8

      Dry the weight with a clean, lint-free cloth.

Previous:

Next:

Cleaning Appliances
  1. How to Clean the Inside of a Mantel Clock
  2. How to Let the Weights All the Way Down on a Grandfather Floor Clock
  3. How to Change the Face of a Grandfather Clock
  4. How to Locate the Silent Feature on a Grandfather Clock
  5. Troubleshooting Grandfather Clock Weights
  6. How to Repair the Hour Hand for a Grandfather Clock
  7. How to Reduce the Ticking Sound of a Grandfather Clock
  8. How to Clean a Pendulum Clock
  9. How to Attach the Weights to the Chain on a Cuckoo Clock
  10. How to Find the Year of My Ridgeway Grandfather Clock
  11. How to Clean Rusted Andirons
  12. How to Clean the Tarnish From a Brass Fixture

Home Garden © https://www.98905.com