All copper alloys develop a crust made of oxide and carbonate, called patina, when exposed to the air. Brass is no exception. After all, brass sheets, tubes, and bars contain about 67 percent copper, which is the primary reactant during patina formation. Fortunately, brass develops patina more slowly than copper and its other alloys, making it easier to polish.

Brass comes in over 60 different types, most of which are lustrous. You’ll know patina is already forming when brass starts losing its sheen. Then, it will turn duller and darker until the patina becomes apparent. The good news is that patina is only superficial and can diminish when scrubbed off with metal polish.

What’s in metal polish?

You may be wondering what substances there are in the metal polish that allow it to dissolve tarnish or patina. As it turns out, there’s more than a handful. The quality of commercial metal polish products may vary from brand to brand, but they all have the same mixture. These are the substances they have in common.

• Ammonia
• Silica
• Thiourea
• Denatured Alcohol
• Acids
• Petroleum Distillates and Naphtha

All of these substances are corrosive. When combined, they become the ultimate tarnish remover. But commercial metal polish is not the only product that can clean brass. Familiar products like vinegar are also excellent at cleaning metal.

What makes vinegar an excellent metal polish?

Many people use vinegar for cleaning home furniture and fixtures. They use it to disinfect wooden cupboards or give their metal frames and trims extra shine. But what makes cleaning brass with vinegar possible? Why do tough stains come off faster when soaked in vinegar than when washed with bleach? The answer lies in its chemical composition.

Vinegar is produced through fermentation. In this process, bacteria break down sugar into alcohol, the same method used for making wine. But that’s just the first level of fermentation. There’s another level in which alcohol is further catalyzed into acetic acid, the chemical that makes up vinegar. The main reason vinegar is an effective cleaning agent is that it’s an acid. And like other acids, it can corrode a wide array of substances, including patina on brass.

Things to Remember before You Clean Brass with Vinegar

While vinegar may not seem that harsh, as proven by how mild it feels when applied on the skin, don’t underestimate its ability to corrode substances on metals. It’s important to note that there are several ways to ferment organic extracts. Meaning, vinegar may also come in different types. Some are more potent than others.

Before you start rubbing your brass item with vinegar, find out how it was produced. The ideal vinegar for cleaning is the one that’s made in a lab—acetic acid mixed with water. Also known as white vinegar, this type is more potent than those produced from fruit extracts. If the vinegar seems too strong for your brass item, dilute it in water. If that doesn’t work, then consider going for a mild type like cider vinegar.

Keep in mind that vinegar dissolves not just the patina or stains on your brass surface. You may not notice it, but it can dissolve brass itself, depending on its potency. So, when you polish brass with vinegar, be careful not to scrub or buff too hard. You don’t want to damage the surface of your brass item, especially if it’s just a cladding to a different material.

How to Clean Brass with Vinegar

You can choose to clean your brass items with vinegar alone. But you can also mix it with other household products. It has been proven many times that homemade metal polish is relatively as effective as its commercial counterparts. The only difference is you will have to put some effort into making the metal polish. Here’s how to make homemade metal polish with vinegar and how to use it.

1. Prepare your vinegar and equal parts of salt and flour. You can also use corn starch or baking soda if you don’t have flour. Mix these three ingredients to form a paste. If you don’t have vinegar, pure lemon juice is a good alternative.

2. Clean your brass item thoroughly. Wash it with soap and water to remove oils and dirt that might get in the way of your homemade metal polish.

3. Make sure the surface of your brass item is parched. Moisture can reduce your metal polish’s effect.

4. When you’re ready, apply the paste on the surface of your brass item and let it sit for 10 to 20 minutes. That should be long enough for the vinegar to break down the tarnish on your item and for the salt and flour to extricate it.

5. Wipe away as much paste from the surface of your brass item as possible using a clean cloth. Then, start buffing until the metal’s untarnished surface reemerges.

Restoring your brass furniture or fixture shouldn’t be a stressful task. If you know how to make homemade metal polish, you’ll find cleaning brass with vinegar fun and productive. There’s nothing more fulfilling than to see your antique possessions come to life again.

In case you are looking to make furniture, and you want its luster to last for a long time, find trusted brass suppliers like Rotax Metals. They provide high-quality copper materials and they supply to large enterprises across North America.

There are more brass items in your home than you probably think. The knobs and hinges on your door, the metal frame under your bed and lounge tables, your curtain rods, and some of your furniture pieces–they are most likely made of brass. While this metal is undoubtedly beautiful, it has its fair share of undesirable qualities, the most apparent of which is its susceptibility to tarnishing.

Like any other copper alloy, brass tarnishes when exposed to the air for a prolonged period. The oxygen in the air combines with the copper in brass to form copper oxide, a substance that gradually thickens and conceals the brass item’s shiny surface. As a result, the object loses its brilliance. Many describe brass as gold-like because some of its types have the same color and sheen as gold. The only difference is that brass loses its luster over time, while gold doesn’t.

The good news is there are easy ways to bring your brass items back to their glittery state. Like most other non-ferrous metals, you can polish brass using standard metal polish, and you don’t have to go far to obtain one. You can prepare your solution using products available in your home. Here’s how to formulate your homemade brass cleaner and polish:

Salt and Lemon Mixture

– Salt and lemon extract are both abrasive substances. When combined, they form a substance harsh enough to dislodge the copper oxide buildup from the surface of your brass item. Not only are these materials accessible, but they are also more affordable than commercial polish.

Ketchup

– Did you know that ketchup has a pH of 3.85? That acidity level makes it an excellent metal polish. While it may not be as effective as today’s commercial metal polish, it’s cheaper and exciting to experiment with.

Baking Soda and Lemon Paste

– Replace the salt in the first formulation with baking soda. You probably use baking soda to clean your kitchen countertop, fridge, or stove, and it works all the time. That’s because baking soda is sodium bicarbonate, a substance that can neutralize both acids and bases. Mixed with lemon, you can create the ultimate brass polish.

Vinegar, Flour, and Salt

– We all know that vinegar is acidic. Salt is quite harsh, too. If you want to make a paste, so your polish sticks on the surface of your brass item and does not evaporate when you let it sit for an hour, add flour.

Tomato Sauce and Paste Mixture

– With the same ingredients as those of ketchup, you can expect the same effect on brass when you apply a tomato sauce and paste solution. You’ll find it even more efficient since tomato paste is more concentrated than ketchup.

How to Clean Brass

Now that you already have a homemade brass cleaner, all you need to do is to follow this easy-to-do brass cleaning procedure:

Prepare all the brass items that need cleaning. The last thing you want is to throw away your homemade metal polish before realizing that there are more items to clean.

Separate the pure brass items from the brass-clad ones. The latter most likely have a thin layer of brass on its surface, and buffing too hard could peel it off. Separating them allows you to apply the right pressure on each item.

Wash your brass items with soap and water to remove all dirt and grease. Brass cleaners don’t adhere to oily surfaces. Also, if there are dust particles left, they might scratch the surface of your brass items as you scrub with the cloth.

After carefully rinsing the brass items with clean water, dry them thoroughly. You don’t want to apply the brass cleaner on your brass items’ wet surface. Moisture will reduce its effectiveness.

Once your items are ready, apply the cleaner on all surfaces and let it sit for at least 10 minutes.

Get a clean cloth and buff your brass items until it becomes shiny again. Don’t leave any section unpolished to achieve the best result.

Where to Buy Brass Supplies

You probably noticed that some of the brass items you have tarnish faster than others. This variation has to do with quality. How the brass that makes up those items were manufactured can affect its tarnish resistance.

When thinking of buying brass furniture or fixture, take your search up a notch and be meticulous about where the raw materials used to make the item came from. If they came from a reputable supplier like Rotax Metals, you could be sure that your furniture or fixture not only makes a perfect addition to your home but last long as well.

Check how many years the supplier has been in operation. If possible, take a peek into their brass sales and find out what supplies most customers buy. That way, you’ll have an idea how much they know about copper alloys like brass and what advanced methods and equipment they use. You’ll never go wrong with a manufacturer that has at least half a century of professional experience in metal processing and distribution.