Tips on Removing Heavy Tarnish From Brass

Commercial Cleaners

• One type of brass cleaner is available in a metal can that is packed with cotton wadding, similar to the texture of cotton balls. The wadding is saturated with tarnish remover. This is one of the simplest of all cleaners to use. Pull off a section of wadding, and rub it against the tarnished brass. The cleaner dissolves the tarnish, and the wadding provides gentle abrasion to help remove it. There are many brands of liquid, cream and paste cleaners that are manufactured for removing heavy tarnish from brass. Most of them are oily, and the project is messy, so clean the item over several layers of newspaper or a drop cloth.

Homemade Cleaners

• Home improvement expert Heloise recommends combining 1/2 teaspoon salt with 1/2 cup vinegar and stirring in flour to make a thick paste. Vinegar helps soften the tarnish, and flour provides a soft abrasive to remove it. Baking soda is another natural tarnish remover. It is more abrasive than flour, so it will help remove stubborn tarnish stains. Cutting a lemon in half and sprinkling table salt on the moist surface of the fruit provides a natural solvent and abrasive, and the lemon itself is the scrubbing tool. Experiment with natural cleaners to help discover that one works best for you.

Cleaning Tools

• A plain cloth is all you need to work tarnish cleaner into the surface of a flat, simple piece of brass; ornate items require a little more precision. A cotton-tipped swab cleans around larger decorative elements. An old, soft toothbrush helps you clean inside small seams, around screws and into other heavy ornamentation. Removing the cleaner is often as tricky as cleaning the item, especially if the material is a thick cream or paste. You can rinse off the cleaner, but you must dry the item completely afterward. If you would rather not subject the brass item to water, buff off the cleaner with a fresh cloth, and use another old toothbrush or more cotton swabs to remove the cleaner from the details.

Maintenance

• Removing heavy tarnish is only part of the job of caring for brass. Regular maintenance helps keep it under control. Wipe freshly cleaned brass with a soft brass-polishing cloth, which is coated with a protective polishing agent. Use the cloth regularly to brighten brass and remove small amounts of tarnish. Clear, liquid brass polish on a clean cloth will give results similar to a brass polishing cloth but with slightly more protection for the metal. Ecology Center recommends polishing brass with Worcestershire sauce or ketchup and then wiping off the residue. If the item is prone to severe tarnish and is very difficult to clean, consider sealing it with clear lacquer. Lacquer shields brass against the elements that cause tarnish, and it requires only occasional dusting and wiping with a damp cloth.