Many products have been made from brass, for example, bijouterie, old brass samovar, etc. The items are very different. They need to regularly take care of them, but about how to do it correctly, not everyone knows.
There is nothing difficult in this. It is only necessary to remember some of the recommendations, going to clean the brass at home.
Peculiarities
It is worth noting that antique brass items that belonged to many generations of owners need special care. To get rid of greenery, oxidation in brass, you can use both simple folk and special modern means. These methods do not require special knowledge, skills, they are absolutely safe for human health. They allow you to get rid of pollution in the shortest possible time and give the brass surface the original shine.
When going to start cleaning the brass product, you will first need to make sure that it really consists of this material. To check this, you can use the usual magnet: just attach it to the surface. Brass should not be attracted without impurities.
How to prevent pollution?
In order not to think about how to quickly clean the product from brass, if there are already spots outside on it, do not forget about preventive measures. Clean the surface regularly using a clean material. Olive oil should be applied to this tissue. Quite a small amount: if the layer is too thick, prints will remain on the surface. Olive oil will protect the brass product.
Cleaning methods
Before cleaning, carefully inspect the brass product. To pick up a suitable processing method, you need to understand whether there are any other impurities in the composition, there is a lacquered coating. Think whether it is worth rubbing, After all, it is possible to remove an interesting patina, which gives him extra beauty and originality.
Going to clean the subject at home, thoroughly owed it. To do this, use a soft detergent solution (one teaspoon is sufficient) and ordinary water. Put the product there, wait half an hour and treat it using a soft cloth or brush. Then the subject will need to carefully wipe so that it becomes absolutely dry.
Then the main stage of purification will come:
- Oxalic acid. In its pure form, such a tool is practically not used. Sorrelic acid is located as part of various detergents that allow cleaning washbasins, tiles, baths. Apply it on the surface and wait. The tool should be darker. Then make the subject using the brush, and apply food soda on it. At the end, rinse it thoroughly. Brass products that have not been cleaned for a long time, it is useless to rub it off with a small amount of such a product. You need to take 10 liters of water, 200 g of oxalic acid, mix them and use the resulting solution.
Before that, you need to wear protective gloves and respirator.
- Yogurt . The result will be good if there is a lot of lactic acid in this product. Put in a saucepan with a yoghurt sweat item, wait about 60 minutes, then rinse the brass in the water and wipe using a soft material.
- Ketchup. Ratcheup is suitable for brass products with a large number of "acid" preservatives and with a minimum of coloring substances. Take a sponge, apply to it a means and scroll it on the subject. Wait 20 minutes and remove the ketchup by terry or cotton hard material. Wash out the product and wipe it using a dry cloth.
- Toothpaste. You can get rid of spots on the product from brass, using ordinary toothpaste. To soften and remove severe contaminants, rinse the item using a soap solution. Then apply to the spots toothpaste, clean the surface with a conventional napkin. Toothbrush is used only to process hard-to-reach areas.
- Acetone. Using this tool, you can remove oxide from brass. After treatment with acetone, the product becomes very beautiful, starts to glisten. Pulk a small swab from cotton solvent and wipe the surface. It must be processed until complete removal of contamination. The product can be pre-dunk. Add salt and vinegar to water, boil the solution. To achieve the best results, it is recommended to boil several hours. The product can darken - this is normal. The darkening will gradually disappear when soaking.
It is necessary to take into account that acetone cannot be used if the object is covered with varnish. Under the influence of this, it will dissolve, and then you will have to restore the coating.
- Lemon acid, vinegar. A mixture of table vinegar, flour (1 cup) and water will help to get rid of the dilated pollution. Apply it on the outer surface of the product and wait, it should dry. Then clean the surface and polish it. From pollution you can get rid of alone vinegar. Heat it on the stove and process the surface using a cotton swab. Spots that are poorly removed, you need to process many times.
- Stains, oxides are also deleted using citric acid. Singing the juice from the lemon, pour salt into it and mix - there must be a casczyce mass. Spread it on the surface, clean and rinse using conventional flow water. After that, the object from brass will need to carefully wipe.
- Salt . Salt can be used not only in combination with citric acid. Skillful cream are also suitable. Pour salt in them, mix. Apply the resulting agent to the surface, wipe. If pollution is very strong, the paste will need to keep about sixty minutes. Then slip the product and wipe it carefully. Remember that salt must completely dissolve, otherwise the subject may be damaged.
- Soap solution. The product from brass needs to be soaked in a soap solution. If the contamination is not very strong, soaking will be enough for the surface to be cleared. Put the chips from the fruitful soap in warm water, dissolve it. Place the product in soap water, leave it there for some time until the liquid cools. Then drain it and sweete the object under running water using a soft pile brush.
- Sandpaper. If the brass jumped up, treat it fine-grained emery paper. It is not necessary to click on this, otherwise the surface may be damaged. For hard-to-reach places it is better to use a chemical method of cleaning.
How to remove varnish?
In many brass items there is a varnish coating. It is applied in order to preserve the beautiful gloss of the surface, and the product was prevented. If this coating is broken, the metal is oxidized and as a result you have to apply a new layer of varnish. To get rid of paintwork material, many keep brass items under hot water. This method of removing varnish is the most gentle.
You can choose another option: three minutes boil the object from brass, for this you need to use dishes without aluminum alloy. Some are used to remove lacquer coatings. Special compositions. You can buy such a tool in the store, which sells products from metal. When going to use the composition, you must first read the instructions. When the varnish completely disappears, clean the subject by choosing the most suitable way to get rid of dirt.
To apply a new layer of varnish, prepare a disc from your wool or brush. Distribute paintwork on the surface as uniform as possible. Applying a new protective layer on the item from brass, be very neat. Otherwise, it is possible to damage the surface to the instruments applied, nails, leave the fingerprints on it. If you apply a lacquer correctly, the product will be securely protected and will retain your shine for a long time.
Polishing
After cleaning, the brass surface should always be polished. This process is carried out with the help of special means. You need to apply the selected composition on the product and polish it for shine using a soft tissue.
So, when complying with certain rules and understanding the essence of the procedure, it is quite simple to extract the product from brass from the oxide. It is necessary to care for brass regularly: only in this case, the subject will retain aesthetic appearance and will delight you with its glitter.
We recommend to watch a video about how to clean and polish brass products at home.