# Removing heavy tarnish from brass



## savarin (May 29, 2021)

I have two brass toasting forks that used to hang either side of the fire at my grandfathers house.
We used these to toast bread and crumpets on the coal fire in the main living room for tea.
Theyve been stored for over 40 years in the shed so are crusted in thick blue corrosion and tarnish.
What is the best method to remove this heavy encrustation as I would like to restore and polish them to how I remember they were.


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## darkzero (May 29, 2021)

I've never tried it myself but there's the YT channel I watch called My Mechanics that does restoration on old tools. He uses vinegar, salt, & flour to make a paste. Coats the brass parts, wraps them in saran wrap,  let them sit overnight, then wash off with water. Appears to work very well.


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## savarin (May 29, 2021)

I will give it a try, thanks


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## Ulma Doctor (May 29, 2021)

i have used a product called Brasso





						Amazon.com: Brasso-2660089334 Multi-Purpose Metal Polish, 8 oz: Health & Personal Care
					

Buy Brasso-2660089334 Multi-Purpose Metal Polish, 8 oz on Amazon.com ✓ FREE SHIPPING on qualified orders



					www.amazon.com
				




it works well for mildly tarnished parts, but you'll need a wire wheel first to get the encrusted zinc oxides off first in your case

hydrogen peroxide may be useful here


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## mmcmdl (May 29, 2021)

darkzero said:


> He uses vinegar, salt, & flour


Sounds like a great weed killer also Will . I mix up vinegar , salt and Dawn for my weed killer every year . Kills them in an hour or so .


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## Ed ke6bnl (May 30, 2021)

What proportions for the weed killer, I mean brass cleaner.


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## darkzero (May 30, 2021)

mmcmdl said:


> Sounds like a great weed killer also Will . I mix up vinegar , salt and Dawn for my weed killer every year . Kills them in an hour or so .



Here in Cali, we don't kill the weeds.


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## cathead (May 30, 2021)

After finding a set of andirons out in the woods in a dump, a knife was used to scrape off the black to reveal that they were
brass.  After that it was a wire wheel and then brass cleaner(Brasso).  I still have them proudly.  Who would throw
away solid brass andirons?


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## CluelessNewB (May 30, 2021)

Nevr-dull,  wadding polish


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## Doug Gray (May 30, 2021)

To my mind a wire wheel is way to harsh for decorative brass. Vinegar concoction first to get down to the brass then brass polish.


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## darkzero (May 30, 2021)

darkzero said:


> I've never tried it myself but there's the YT channel I watch called My Mechanics that does restoration on old tools. He uses vinegar, salt, & flour to make a paste. Coats the brass parts, wraps them in saran wrap,  let them sit overnight, then wash off with water. Appears to work very well.





savarin said:


> I will give it a try, thanks



Here's one example in one of his videos & shows the mixture amounts. Starts at 4:02 in case the video linked below doesn't start there. It removes all the tarnish without abrasive material removal which can then just be polished after if no further rework is needed. Results at 4:35 & says he let it sit for 7 days (and here I said overnight, lol). He starts polishing at 8:10.








EDIT: Here's another one, starts at 1:24. This one says he it let it sit for 12 hrs.


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## benmychree (May 30, 2021)

For very heavy tarnish, bead blast then polish.


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## matthewsx (May 30, 2021)

Of course you realize we’re all waiting for pictures of you toasting crumpets now.


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## Bourbon (May 30, 2021)

Tomato sauce. Get loads on it, cover it all over. Then wrap it round with cling film or tin foil. leave it for a couple of days. wash it off, dry well, the polish with a brass cleaning wadding.


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## savarin (May 30, 2021)

First mistake, too much vinegar and not enough salt.
I was going to unwrap today but I will leave for some more and see what happens.


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## Doug Gray (May 30, 2021)

Now I'm getting hungry


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## Bi11Hudson (May 31, 2021)

Brasso and NevrDull work fine for polish. Not so good for a few years of tarnish. A wire wheel will be harder than the brass most times. It won't be fit for polishing after any (steel) wire brush. A chemical cleaner or home made cleaner (tomato paste, etc) should be the choice for removing the crud. Then Brasso or NevrDull to get a fine polish. Be prepared for lots of dirty hands and cloths, The residue from just a belt buckle will not wash off so easy and will ruin clothes. Something larger will be a handful. I used NevrDull on my uniform brass back when.(50 yrs) It will leave a finish so bright it hurts your eyes. Getting the crud off is the important part. Something that won't scar the brass is the big issue.

.


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## mmcmdl (May 31, 2021)

No wonder why my tummy always hurts ...........................too many salt and vinegar tater chips


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## hman (May 31, 2021)

Hmmmm ... maybe grind up stale potato chips to make the de-tarnishing "poultice"


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## savarin (May 31, 2021)

What are stale potato chips?
I didnt know they existed


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## Al 1 (May 31, 2021)

Tomato Ketchup will do it.  Spread it on and wrap with plastic.  Let them sit for a few hours and check.    It may take a few applications. Scrub with brush between applications.     Al.


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## homebrewed (May 31, 2021)

Tarn-X works OK on (real) silverware and copper cooking items.  It chemically removes tarnish but can leave a dull surface. You likely would need to follow up with polish.


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## hman (May 31, 2021)

Active ingredients in Tarn-x: Thiourea and sulfamic acid.  pH is close to 0.85 to 1.05, so very acidic.  The thiourea is an ammonia-like compound, so that's probably the principle of its action.


			http://archpdfs.lps.org/Chemicals/Tarn-X_tarnish_remover.pdf


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## savarin (Jun 1, 2021)

Here we go, first report back.
How they looked originally



Whilst they were festering in the salt, flour and vinegar mix for 2 days only.



After washing off the festering mix only and rubbing with my thumb



It was interesting how the shaft on the top fork and the handle of the bottom one looked as if they were copper.
I gave it a quick touch on the buffing wheel and up came the brass look.
Now some polishing, I wonder where I've heard that before.


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## Cadillac STS (Jun 1, 2021)

Suppose you put yeast in the mix?  Would the CO2 bubbles help the vinegar get to small crevices or would the bubbles pull it away from the surface and not work as well?


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## savarin (Jun 1, 2021)

I made the mix like a sloppy mess rather than a thick paste so It did get into all the crevices.


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## CluelessNewB (Jun 1, 2021)

Cadillac STS said:


> Suppose you put yeast in the mix?  Would the CO2 bubbles help the vinegar get to small crevices or would the bubbles pull it away from the surface and not work as well?


My guess is the vinegar would kill the yeast in short order.  Making an environment inhospitable to the growth of microorganisms is one of the reasons we use vinegar to make pickles.


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## hman (Jun 1, 2021)

Either that or classic "green beer"


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## savarin (Jun 14, 2021)

I made a saturated solution of vinegar and salt to try out on copper.
Heres the original kettle, the lid was submerged in the mix for approx 3 mins, washed in clean water then buffed on the cloth wheel for all of 4 mins total.


Pretty good even if I do say so myself.
BUT, 
heres the new info that surprised me.
The stainless steel bowel I used to mix the ingredients looked like this after 20 mins.


The photo is after I scrubbed it with kitchen abrasive cleaner.
Thats two things I have found that dissolve stainless, the above salt and vinegar mix and liquid aluminium.


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## hman (Jun 14, 2021)

Bummer about your bowl.  I wonder if there was some galvanic action going on between the copper and the (chromium rich) stainless steel.  

PS - It took me a while to figure out that the blindingly white object in your first photo was the lid ... reflecting light!


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## Ed ke6bnl (Jun 14, 2021)

PS - It took me a while to figure out that the blindingly white object in your first photo was the lid ... reflecting light!
- John Herrmann


I thought it was some sort of gooseneck hitch


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## homebrewed (Jun 14, 2021)

The dark patches in your bowl probably just are rough spots rather than any significant corrosion.  The patches scatter light so they look dark.  They likely will polish out, if you care to take the time to do it.

That said, I too am surprised that a vinegar-salt mix can attack stainless to any extent.  Who'd a thunk it??


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## savarin (Jun 15, 2021)

hman said:


> Bummer about your bowl.  I wonder if there was some galvanic action going on between the copper and the (chromium rich) stainless steel.


I am testing this at the moment, sort of, its not the same stainless so may not do anything.
Its soaking overnight, if theres no change I will lay a bit of copper on it.
I have a feeling that galvanic reactions are the culprit.


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## savarin (Jul 7, 2021)

I couldnt replicate the process exactly so I'm thinking it was the fact that I heated the mixture to make it dissolve faster that sped up the galvanic reaction.
Just for information Brasso is a total waste of time, It did nothing, the weak mildly cloudy thin liquid that now called Brasso"
I seem to remember brasso as being a thick sludge in the can.


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## hman (Jul 7, 2021)

OK, Charles ... I'm not trying to pull your chain.  But I've bought Brasso recently, and though changed a bit (used to smell faintly of ammonia), it still works OK.  And it was still relatively thick and creamy.  So my question for you is, how well did you shake the container before pouring????


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## savarin (Jul 7, 2021)

I thought very hard but I will poke the bottom of the tin to check.


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## Bourbon (Jul 8, 2021)

It needs shaking until your arm feels like it is going to drop off...........Then shake it some more!


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