If patina still remains, repeat the above steps. Gently dry your bronze with a second soft cloth. Rinse the bronze thoroughly under warm water, rubbing with your fingers to remove all of the paste. Let the paste dwell on the bronze for half an hour. Continue to rub until you don’t see any more obvious spots. Focus on any especially heavy areas of patina. With a polishing cloth, soft rag, or scrap of an old T-shirt, work the paste into the metal with small, circular motions. If the piece has many nooks and crannies or ornate trim, use an old toothbrush to work the paste into the crevices. Protect your hands with lightweight household work gloves, and then smear the cleaning paste over your bronze piece, using your fingers if the piece is small or a rag if it is large. You might see a little bubbling or some fizzing for a minute or two this is normal. STEP 3ĭrip lemon juice-either fresh or concentrate-very slowly over the baking soda until the mixture is just wet enough to create a paste similar in consistency to toothpaste. Pour two tablespoons of baking soda into a small bowl. Wipe the metal dry with a soft, clean towel or rag. This first option is fast-working but requires ample elbow grease.įirst, rinse your bronze jewelry or décor in warm water to remove dust. Here are two easy and effective methods for how to clean bronze. Luckily, you don’t need smelly or potentially caustic chemicals to clean bronze and polish the metal in fact, you can easily get the job done with just a few household ingredients. To preserve this aged finish, many choose to maintain pewter simply by dusting it occasionally.While some people appreciate the patina-it does impart an air of great age, even if it’s actually a fairly new piece-most prefer to restore bronze to its original glow. Talk to a professional jeweler some collectors prefer not to clean or polish pewter, because the metal gradually takes on a patina that people prize. If your pewter piece has sentimental or monetary value, the wise course may be to leave it alone. Apply this second paste with a soft cloth. Optional: Boil a small amount of linseed oil, then mix in rottenstone (a powdered limestone available at your local home center).Leave it in place for 30 minutes, then rinse off with warm water and let dry.Use a soft cloth to apply the cleanser, rubbing it in with a circular motion.Mix one cup white vinegar with a half-cup white flour to create a paste (for grainy-finished satin pewter, add in one teaspoon of salt, which makes the paste slightly abrasive and improves its cleaning ability).If you do choose to polish your pewter, remember that while there’s nothing wrong with store-bought metal polish, you can achieve similar results for less money with an easy DIY concoction: A gentle wash is all you want to keep it clean. Oxidized pewter has been treated with a darkening agent to give it an antique look. Apply the polish with very fine steel wool in the direction of the grain be careful not to leave scratches. If it’s time for a touch-up, the best way to clean such pewter is with a mildly abrasive homemade scrub (see recipe below).
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |