It is irritating to go online and find so many declarations of the easiest or the best way to do something. They can’t all be the easiest or the best. As a member in an online painting group, I see many that insist to know the best way to polish brass hardware. After further online searching, I became frustrated with the unlimited statements that every way mentioned was the best. It’s time to get to the bottom of these claims. (Video at the end of the post)
Testing out 8 different techniques to polish brass became a full day of chemistry experiments. My oldest boy left for college a few weeks ago. He is a huge chemistry nerd and I say that in the most loving way. I kind of missed having him run the experiments with me but it made for a great excuse to call him up and check in. As expected, he got really into it and completely lost me in some of the explanations of which things were cations and anions, polar molecules and catalysts. I think I have the basics though, and hopefully I will represent well. 😉
Fortunately, a recently refinished dresser had brass hardware that I changed out- see that post here. There were enough handles to run an experiment with a control group, independent variables, dependent variables- basically, the works. I even had a hypothesis about which method would work best. Before we begin, here are a couple of tips to make polishing more successful.
Plated or Solid?
It is important to know if the object you are polishing is plated or solid metal. If it is plated, there is only a thin layer of the finishing metal covering it and you don’t want to run the risk of wearing through that layer. How can you know if the brass is plated or not? Easy. Get a magnet.
Brass is not magnetic. If it is solid brass the magnet will not stick to it. Plated brass most likely has a steel core. Steel has iron in it and iron is magnetic. So, if a magnet sticks to the brass object, it is plated and you should use caution when polishing. Don’t want to polish too hard and wear through the plated layer!
Lacquered Finish?
Often hardware will have a protective finish on it to keep it from tarnishing. If the item is lacquered, then it will act as a barrier and whatever means of polishing may have little to no effect on the metal. It is possible to strip off the lacquer finish and then polish the metal to your liking. Some of the listed techniques will do just that and will be noted. However, if it does have a lacquered finish, it may just need a good cleaning with warm soapy water and then a thorough drying.
Hypothesis: The more acidic the solution, the quicker the reaction time and less effort needed to clean the brass items.
* This is not a official science experiment so I didn’t really use the scientific method exactly. Guys, it’s been a long time since I have done something like this, just go with it. This is not an official lab report.
Brasso
A metal polish that has been around for a long time and can be trusted to gently clean any metal surface. All you need is the Brasso, a clean rag to polish and a clean rag to buff off the polish, and some elbow grease.
Method: Shake Brasso well. Apply to a cloth and then apply to the metal. Rub to loosen badly discolored areas. Re-polish with a clean cloth to remove Brasso.
Pros:
- It has been around for years (over 100) and generally works well
- Relatively inexpensive
- Ready to go paste
- Can be used on Copper, Brass, Stainless Steel, Chrome, Pewter, Bronze, and Aluminum
- See brightening of tarnish right away
- Cleans well
- No harm detected on metal finish
Cons:
- The grime gets under your nails and discolors them…for days
- Lots of elbow grease=time and energy
- Tricky to get into the details and to remove the residue
- Doesn’t get through if lacquered
- Keep away from children
Bar Keeper’s Friend
A multipurpose cleaner that is inexpensive. Recommended by many well known brands like: All-Clad, Calphalon, Cutco, Dacor, Electrolux, Elkay, Franke, Formica, General Electric, Kohler, Tramontina, Viking, Volrath, and many others.
Method:Â Make a paste with the Bar Keeper’s Friend and some water. Apply to brass with a Scotch-Brite pad or steel wool #0000 and rub to clean. Rinse off with warm soapy water and dry thoroughly.
Pros:
- Quicker results than the Brasso method
- Easy to work with
- Can be used on other items
- Using the scour pad makes it easier to get into the details
- Cleaner/ brighter looking polish than Brasso
- No damaged detected on finish
Cons:
- Doesn’t cut through the lacquer
- The brass looks brighter but only in the areas that were buffed
- Difficult to clean and polish crevices or small recessed areas
- Elbow grease and time
- Keep away from children
Fresh Lemon Juice and Baking Soda Paste
Method: Squeeze one lemon and add baking soda to form a paste. Apply paste to brass and scrub with a scouring pad or steel wool #0000. Rinse clean and then thoroughly dry. What I changed: Works best if left to soak for 30-40 minutes. I took things up a notch by using the steel wool instead of just the scouring pad. Will clean off the lacquered layer eventually.
Pros:
- Smells great
- Easy to find ingredients
- Completely organic and child safe
- Inexpensive
- Easy to polish in crevices/details
- Will remove lacquer layer and polish brass easily
- Easy to wash off paste
- Not a lot of elbow grease
- Brightest shine and lightest color when polished out of all the methods
Cons:
- Takes about 40 minutes to work best
- If you have a lot of handles, or a large object, you’ll need more lemons
- Works best to polish with steel wool, which wasn’t in the original recipe
- Does take time, but not attention
Tomato Juice
Method: Cover items in tomato juice and soak for about 5 minutes. You’ll see occasional bubbles surfacing. Wash with warm soapy water and dry thoroughly. What I changed: The original recipe did not mention to scrub with steel wool #0000, but when I did it was very easy to polish.
Pros:
- Extremely inexpensive
- Does not require a lot of attention
- No elbow grease needed
- Quick (5 minutes to soak then polish and rinse off)
- Easily gets into nooks and crannies
- Children can help
Cons:
- Doesn’t cut through the lacquer
- Didn’t mention to polish with steel wool in original recipe
- Definitely rids item of tarnish but the polish isn’t as bright as the lemon paste
Ketchup
Method: Cover items in ketchup and soak for 40 minutes. Wash off with soapy water and dry completely. This technique may be a great time to use up the ketchup packets saved from take out! (There is no way I am the only one that keeps those things.)
Pros:
- Little to no elbow grease needed
- Just wash off in the kitchen sink
- Got all the nooks and crannies really well
- No scrubbing required
- Children can help
- Ingredients already on hand
Cons:
- More of an antiqued shine instead of a bright shine
- Not as economical unless you use cheap ketchup
- Slight inconsistency with shine between items (helped to use the steel wool)
- Must intentionally cover all areas with ketchup that you want polished
Boil in White Vinegar and Water
Method: Fill a pan with roughly equal parts vinegar and water. Be sure it is enough to cover items in the pan. Heat on the stove until bubbles start to form. Gently add hardware. Let boil for 3-4 minutes. Remove items with tongs or something that can grab the items. Do not just reach in and grab the metal; both the boiling solution and hot metal could burn your hands. Place items on a towel. Scrub with the steel wool #0000 (can dip steel wool into solution to help polish) and wipe clean with a clean dry cloth.
Pros:
- Removed the lacquer finish
- Easy to polish with the steel wool
- Extremely inexpensive and can do a lot of items at a time
- Nice shine and polish
- Relatively quick
- Ingredients already in my pantry
- Easily cleaned in the nooks and crannies
Cons:
- Items are hot
- Children can help but only under careful supervision
- Slight inconsistency between small and large handles
- Polish not as bright as the lemon paste, but still good
Aluminum Foil, White Vinegar and Kosher Salt
Method: Mix white vinegar and kosher salt in a bowl or container. Place folded aluminum foil in the bottom of solution. Place brass items on top of aluminum, being sure the liquid covers all of the items. Can add more vinegar if needed. You’ll see bubbles form. The recipe said to let sit a few hours and to use a wire brush and then use a buffing wheel to remove scratches, but I didn’t do that. I don’t have a stinkin’ buffing wheel. What I changed: I noticed it didn’t take a few hours to soak before the polish, only about 20 minutes. I used fine steel wool #0000 instead of a wire brush and buffing wheel.
Pros:
- Reaction happened faster with the aluminum foil in the pan as opposed to the same technique minus the foil
- Very inexpensive
- Large batch can be done, just limited to size of container
- Child safe
- Not a lot of elbow grease, like none
- Ingredients were all in my pantry
- Brighter polish than the boiled or without aluminum foil
- Removed lacquered finish
Cons:
- Original method called for specialty items like a buffing wheel and compound
- Slight pitting perceived on handle front, possible existing damage
White Vinegar and Kosher Salt
Method:Â Pour white vinegar into a bowl or container, add kosher salt. Stir for about 10-15 seconds. Add brass items and let sit for 20 ish minutes or more. You’ll see bubbles form. Rinse and dry. What I changed: Scrub with the steel wool #0000 to clean. Rinse and dry.
Pros:
- Relatively quick
- Ingredients found in the pantry
- Child safe
- Not a lot of elbow grease
- Can be done in a large batch
- Removed the lacquer finish
Cons:
- Not as bright of a polish compared to method with foil
- Took slightly longer for the reaction to occur compared to method with foil
- Finish is inconsistent in appearance
- Possible pitting in the finish, but that may be existing damage
- Not as bright of a polish compared to other methods
Here’s what I observed.
Salt increases the conductivity of the vinegar, it is a catalyst for the reactions to occur. The bubbles that formed when items were soaking in the tomato juice and vinegar experiments prove that a gas was forming and whatever was stuck to the brass is loosening. The aluminum speed up the process and allows the electrons to move.
Here is what my son tried to explain (dumb down) to me
I hope to reiterate correctly. Fingers crossed!
Salt (sodium) has a positive charge and is a cation, which is very small. Chlorine has a negative charge, anion, and is very big in comparison to the sodium. Vinegar and sodium react to make sodium acitate and hydrochloric acid which break down the “gunk” in the brass. The bubbles are a gas that is forming (proof that a reaction is happening). He wasn’t exactly sure what gas was forming because what is on the brass is unknown to him. That gas gets released into the atmosphere, but their forming on the brass surface indicates that the reaction is breaking down whatever is on the brass and it will be easier to clean off. Most likely the reaction is with the oxygen, hydrogen, or chlorine. Also, if you want to remove rust from brass or copper, use nitric acid. (I have no idea how dangerous that could be, but it sounds like you should use caution.)
Conclusion: After conducting a blind vote from the family, it was determined that the Lemon Juice Paste and the Vinegar and Kosher Salt with Aluminum were the top two winners.
With that said, the lemon juice and baking soda paste seemed to have the brightest shine, the most consistent finish and got the crevices the cleanest with the least amount of work. I did veer from the original recipe by letting the handles soak in the mixture for a while, but it was definitely an easy method. The white vinegar with kosher salt on aluminum foil took less time than the lemon method, but is was not as consistent with the finish and it didn’t get the crevices as clean as the lemon, but they were still pretty dang good. My least favorite methods were the first two; the Brasso and the Bar Keeper’s Friend were just more labor intensive and not as bright of a finish in the end.
Well, there you have it. The methods were tried, they were tested, some came up lacking and some were clear winners. Now you know that the lemon and baking soda paste is the number one way to clean brass. The runners up were soaking the brass in white vinegar with kosher salt on a piece of aluminum and the soaking in ketchup methods.
Not every statement on the internet is true. I know, big shocker. It is irritating to try something claiming to be a number one way to save time and be easy only to be a total flop. Hopefully this side-by-side comparison of 8 ways to polish brass was informative, helpful, or at least entertaining. May this save you time in the future for when you are polishing brass or refinishing hardware on a repurposed piece. At any rate, my wish is that is helps you to make a house a home.💙
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Very scientific! Thanks for the info.
Haha, thanks. It was pretty fun to try out all of the simple ways to polish brass and to see science at work!