I love finding a good deal, but nine times out of ten a good deal also requires a good deal of work.
A few weekends ago I got a Craigslist alert if you don’t know what that is, read this and one of the posts was for a garage sale in the town we live in. I think the particular alert was for “marble coffee table” but the lead image was of a dining table that had a bunch of things on top, including a giant, appearing-to-be brass obelisk. It was the day of Xander’s birthday party, and I needed to run out and get his cake anyways, so I bolted out the door in the hope that it was still there. A short drive and a few dollars later I had acquired the biggest, most tarnished, crusty, brass obelisk I’ve ever seen.
This last Saturday I decided to try and clean it up. Truth be told, I hate polishing things. Why must I love things that need polishing, but loathe doing it? I mentioned to my dad that I wish there was a service that polished things for you – I’d definitely pay for that. His response? “There used to be, they were called servants, Gwen.” Oh. Ha.
Like any good blogger I documented my attempts on Instagram stories and Snapchat (@themakerista), and like any bad blogger I forgot to save the story images and they’re all gone now. I don’t have a before shot, but the above is how it looked after at least an hour and several different treatments. I started with Bar Keepers Friend. That worked pretty well on the top half, but the bottom half had lots of crust and corrosion. Grace, suggested ammonia to cut through some of that, and it’s definitely what I should have started with. I wasted a lot of elbow grease trying Bar Keeper’s Friend first.
Sunday I stopped by the hardware store to get some Brasso. While I don’t think it works as well on the really tarnished stuff, it’s a great finisher. I ended by polishing with a soft, dry cloth, and it now looks like something you’d pay good money for on Chairish or One Kings Lane, not at a suburban garage sale.
If I had to do it again, here’s how I’d bring it back to life. First I’d use ammonia on a sponge to remove most of the crust and grime. If you can soak the piece, I’d make a bath of water and Bar Keepers Friend, and let it sit. This has a felt pad on the bottom, so that wasn’t something I wanted to do. Then I’d use Bar Keeper’s Friend to make a paste with water and a scouring pad to scrub most of the tarnish off. This requires a lot of elbow grease or maybe I’m just a total wimp. Also, wear gloves for this. I didn’t and my hands have been peeling for the last several days. Ugh. I’d finish off with Brasso and then use a soft, dry cloth to polish to a shine.
Thank you to the followers who left comments on Saturday! Some other recommendations included lemon juice and baking soda, tomato paste, and even salt and water. Any other products or home remedies you swear by?
Lisa says
I use a magic eraser to remove most tarnish and then bar keepers friend or brasso. Sometimes I use the magic eraser with bar keepers or just plain old baking soda.
themakerista@gmail.com says
Oh, that’s a good idea too! Those magic erasers seem to work on everything!
Brenda says
Cameo Copper/Brass cleaner works like a dream. Drugstore.com has it on sale now.
themakerista@gmail.com says
Thanks, Brenda, I’ll have to give it a try!
Alice says
Product called Never Dull. My brother was in the Coast Guard and had to polish A LOT of brass and this is what they use, along with elbow grease. Works like a charm.
themakerista@gmail.com says
I’m sure he knows what’s best then. 🙂 Thanks for sharing, Alice!
Susan Davis says
Simichrome Metal Polish is the hands-down, absolute best! (Available on Amazon)
themakerista@gmail.com says
I’ll have to look into it, thanks Susan!
Kim Moore says
Hello,
Acetone works wonders. It cuts through the layer of “lacquer” and then you can polish easily with Bar Keepers Friend. I learned this the hard way. As a dealer of vintage items I polish a LOT of brass (brass items, lamps. hardware).
Always enjoy reading your posts and getting new ideas from your wonderful blog!!
themakerista@gmail.com says
Didn’t think about that, I’m sure it does work really well! Thanks, Kim!
Oksana | FOXYOXIE.com says
Once upon a time I got my hands on 5 Cesca chairs with brass frames that required some major, MAJOR cleaning. (I’m talking scratches, rust, discoloration…) I tried everything in the book – literally, every method you’ve mentioned in the post, I tried, and what worked for me the most was Bar Keeper’s Friend! Brasso required SO MUCH WORK and didn’t clean nearly as well as BKF, so I was surprised to hear you say that you prefer the latter. 🙂 I guess it depends on the object, but a good way to test if you have a solid brass piece is to stick a magnet to it. If it sticks, it’s solid brass (and can be cleaned with the hard chemicals). If it doesn’t stick, that means it’s polished brass and will likely change colors if you use hard chemicals.
Anyway, great addition to the space! XO
themakerista@gmail.com says
Thanks for your thoughts, Oksana! I’ve just found that it doesn’t look as finished with BKF. I usually have some light tarnishing still and water streaks. I like that the Brasso seems to really finish the piece, but I agree, it doesn’t get as much of the major stuff off. That’s why I’ve found using a few different products to be the best. Thanks for reading and hope you have a lovely rest of the week!
Susan says
We have had great success for smaller items by soaking them in a crock pot with dawn dish detergent. We put the crock pot on high for a couple of hours then use AAAA sandpaper to rub off any paint or corrosion. Works so well.
themakerista@gmail.com says
Hm, good to know! I’ll have to try it on smaller things, thanks!
Norma | The House that Will says
I tried the lemon juice/salt on a pair of brass birds. It worked well initially, but a while later some rusty bits started appearing. I’m guessing the salt corroded some impurities in the metal. So I wouldn’t use that one again.