How and how to clean brass at home and restore the lost shine?

Metal products obtained by mixing copper and zinc, differ original color, resistance to wear and attractive shine. Unfortunately, only a few mistresses know what to clean brass and how to do it right at home.

The bulk of people, the original figures, jewelry and utensils most often simply stores in cabinets. In fact, there are a lot of methods for restoring the original type of brass. All of them are distinguished by their accessibility and safety. It is not at all necessary to seek help from professionals or purchase aggressive chemicals.

Before cleaning brass with one of the folk remedies or household reagents, you need to make sure that the product is really made of this alloy. To do this, we take a very small magnet and apply it to the object. If he pulls, then in this case it's not about brass.

The most effective methods for cleaning products from brass

First of all, experts recommend the following tools to update the appearance of brass products:

• Gels with the addition of oxalic acid. Ideal for clearing obvious but not perennial pollution. Oxalic acid is a part of most detergent products. The selected product is simply applied to the product and left for a few minutes. As soon as the working surface becomes even darker, it is necessary to start working it with a brush. Then we fill the object with soda and rinse all the components under running water.
• Oxalic acid in its pure form. If the previous approach does not give the desired results, you will have to clean the product with the base product. For a liter of liquid we take no more than 20 g of the composition. In the resulting solution, we soak the object for a short time and brush it with a brush. Work should be carried out in a respirator and gloves.

Advice: Use of formulations based on acetic, citric and hydrochloric acid is best avoided. They give a quick result, but in inexperienced hands can cause damage to the product.

• Acetone. First, brass is simply wiped with a swab dipped in acetone. If the positive shifts are not obvious, then before this treatment soak the product in a solution of water, salt and vinegar, brought to a boil. For maximum effect, brass objects should be boiled in this composition for 3-4 hours, if necessary adding more water. Do not be afraid of darkening the material, you just need to wait a bit.
• Professional acid concentrates. They can be purchased at household or specialty stores. Just apply the composition to a tissue napkin and try to clean the dirt.

The lacquered brass recovers faster than the untreated one. At the same time, it gets dirty much more slowly.

Safe, but effective folk approaches

Folk craftsmen, through trial and error, have developed many effective techniques for cleaning brass items. If you do not want to deal with questionable chemistry, then first you should try the following tools:

• Toothpaste. First the object is washed several times in soapy water, wiping out massive dirt and softening them. Next, we take the toothpaste, apply to the problem areas and gradually wipe it off. We use a napkin, using a toothbrush only in hard-to-reach places.
• "Vinegar test". Take a glass of flour on a glass of water and table vinegar. The resulting composition is abundantly applied to the problem subject and wait until the mass is completely dry. During this time, vinegar should dissolve even the most dense plaque, and flour will absorb all this dirt. It remains only to clean the product with a cloth. If necessary, repeat the attempt again.
• Polishing with lemon juice and salt. Squeeze half a lemon juice into a plate. We begin to add small portions of small table salt in small portions until a paste is formed. We put the composition on the object and begin to process it with soft circular motions. Remains of the composition are washed off with water, and the product is dried immediately with a dry cloth. Soak in soapy water. This should begin with any cleaning. In some cases, this manipulation is quite enough. In the basin pour warm water, we dissolve in it the shavings of laundry soap or any means for washing dishes, foaming. We soak the products for a few minutes until the liquid cools. After that, drain the water and try to clean the objects with a soft brush under running water.
• Hot vinegar. If the brass has gone stained, then they can be wiped off with hot vinegar. Clean the product warm to a tolerant state, we moisten it with a cotton pad and wipe the formations on the product. Only act in a well-ventilated room, the smell will be very strong.
• Sandpaper. Strongly soiled elements, such as candlesticks or fireplace parts, can be rubbed with a very soft sandpaper. But after that it will be necessary to carry out additional chemical cleaning of hard-to-reach places.
• Salt and Buttermilk. In half a liter of buttermilk, add a tablespoon of fine salt and mix well. The composition is used to clean the problem areas, then we rinse it thoroughly under running water and perform compulsory drying.

The listed methods are absolutely harmless, but they are not recommended for abuse. And without that pure brass shine, they will not add.

What can I do if I can not achieve the desired result?

If all the tested procedures did not give the desired result, you will have to remove the lacquer coating or its top layer for re-processing the object. Manipulation consists of several stages:

1. The horizontal surface is lined with newspaper. With the help of a liquid for removing varnish or other solvent and a brush, we remove the protective layer from the surface of the product.
2. Next, we use a special polish, which can be purchased at a hardware store. The product is rubbed into the surface until it is possible to obtain the desired degree of gloss. Do not forget about the problem areas, on the updated product, the darkened areas will not look particularly aesthetically pleasing.
3. Then the prepared thing is reinvented with a special varnish. The product should be distributed evenly. To simplify the work, we use a brush or cotton balls.
4. We leave the finished object dried. The first time it is better not to touch, and if absolutely necessary you will have to put on cotton gloves.

To maintain the effect for the longest period, it is necessary to regularly wipe the brass of dust, polish it, and, if the slightest hint of plaque appears, carry out a profile cleaning.