Brass that's properly cleaned and polished can look beautiful displayed in your home .Maybe you have a few pieces of brass that have lost their luster or you found some interesting brass objects at a garage sale and need to clean them up.
With the right approach and a little elbow grease, you can have your brass pieces looking like new in short order. Here's how to clean brass:
Remove Any Lacquer That's Covering Your Brass Object
Most brass pieces have layer of lacquer applied to them which makes them almost impossible to clean and polish until the lacquer coating is removed. If your brass piece is heavily tarnished and you can't remove it with brass polish, you'll need to remove the lacquer coating. You can use commercial, water soluble lacquer removal which is found at hardware stores or you can substitute with paint remover. Whichever you choose, it should be applied generously to the piece with a paintbrush.
Allow it to remain on the object for five minutes and then use a medium steel wool pad to scrub off the paint remover. Make sure the commercial lacquer remover you choose is water soluble if you use this technique. Be sure to wear rubber gloves and use any chemicals in a well ventilated area.
How to Clean Brass
Now that the superficial lacquer coating has been removed, it's time to clean your brass piece .The most inexpensive way to do this is to use ammonia. (in a well ventilated area). Apply the ammonia to a piece of steel wool and thoroughly rub the brass until the tarnish is completely removed.
Polish Your Brass Piece
You have now removed the lacquer and tarnish from your brass piece and it's time to polish. Polishing will give your brass the brilliant sheen that makes the piece so beautiful. You can purchase a commercial brass polish from your local hardware store for this step. The paste variety of brass polish works particularly well due to its thicker formulation. This can be applied to your piece with a very fine steel wool pad.
Lacquer Your Piece To Protect It
Once your brass piece is clean, you can reapply the lacquer to protect the piece from the formation of future tarnish. You can purchase a commercial lacquer made for brass at your hardware store. Apply a thin coat with a paint brush and allow it to dry thoroughly before touching it.
Now that you know how to clean brass, you can find attractive brass pieces at yard sales and estate sales that can be quickly and easily cleaned up and displayed in your home. It's a great way to revamp your home if you're on a budget.
