After thrifting in Palm Springs last weekend I was reminded about vintage brass, and how much I’ve hoarded it over the years. But often they’re really vintage, covered in disgusting tarnish, and not as pretty as they could be. We researched and came up with an easy solution to clean, so a few years ago (one of Sara’s first days here, happy 5 years Sara!) we created this post with even a cute little video to go along with it. As you’ll see most of that tarnish and age can be safely (and gently) removed with a little scrubbing and TWO ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen. And just like that your brass can be looking almost as good as new. Almost.
What you’ll need: 1/2 of a lemon (unless you’re cleaning something HUGE), a small bowl, a spoon for mixing, and baking soda (we ended up using about 4 tablespoons). And of course, your brass object.
First, make sure your object is real brass. Otherwise, you might actually end up tarnishing the material further, rather than polishing. The easiest way to tell if something is real brass versus brass colored is to take a magnet to its surface and see if it sticks since a magnet won’t stick to real brass. Once you’ve determined you’re working with real, honest brass it’s time to get scrubbing.
Step 1: Juice your lemon half into your mixing bowl, spooning out the seeds if they pop out. We wouldn’t recommend using lemon juice from concentrate (you know, the juice you can buy in the lemon-shaped bottle) only because we’re not sure how any added ingredients or preservatives might interact with the baking soda or brass surface.
Step 2: Start adding in baking soda, a tablespoon at a time, and mixing until a paste forms. You’re going for a “toothpaste” like consistency. We ended up using about 4 tablespoons in all, but it will vary depending on the juiciness of your lemon.
Step 3 & 4: Apply a small spoonful to a soft cloth and begin rubbing your brass object with the cloth and paste. Don’t be afraid to really scrub some of those tough tarnish spots, or use your fingers for tiny detailed areas.
Step 5: Rinse the paste off your brass object with warm water, and immediately dry with a soft towel.
That’s it. Two ingredients are all it takes to safely and gently clean all your favorite brass items. No dangerous chemicals, gloves, or face masks needed. We even made a quick “how to” video to show you just how easy it really is:
And just in case you don’t have any of your own brass items (yet), we’ve rounded up a few vintage brass objects we love from around the internet. They’re each one of a kind so grab ’em while you can. Your shelves, coffee tables, and desks will thank you.
- Vintage Brass Watering Can | 2. Vintage Brass Apple Bell | 3. Chinoiserie Gold Trinket Box | 4. Brass Modernist Bowl | 5. Vintage 1960s Modernist Hand Shaped Brass Ashtray | 6. Vintage Brass Dish | 7. Gilt Reticulated Metal Storage Box | 8. Bone Small Bowl in Brass by Tom Dixon | 9. MCM Solid Brass Elephant Figure | 10. Tricube Antique Brass Bookends | 11. Brass Candlesticks (set of 8) | 12. Vintage Carolina Mirror
Since this is an old post, did any of you try it the first time around? Did it work for you? Any recipe adjustments or recommendations? Let us know in the comments xx
I’ve been gobbling up all the cool brass candlesticks I can find. Thank you for the eco-friendly cleaning tip Em!
so happy you were able to use this tip! 🙂
I wonder … does that mix clean copper too??
Our doorbell gives me the heebies…I’m going to give this a go.
I’m thinking of using a nail brush to scrub with … any thoughts about how that might work as opposed to a cloth? I thought maybe less elbow grease required?
As of tomorrow, we’re hunkered down for the Coronavirus wav/es in Australia, so I’ll be getting loads of l9ng overdue jobbies done! We have all of our supplies once we get our scripts filled tomorrow… then … Boom! Home time!!
Emily and team, I’ve been wondering how you will stay safe and keep things ticking over, business running, projects going???
Thinking of you all – it’s an even smaller world now! – stay safe, stay healthy… we appreciate you and what you do so, so much! ? xxx
We’re a very small team and work in a private office, so for now we’re just all staying very aware of our health, listening to our bodies, and washing our hands All. The. Time. Thank you for your thoughts xx
You clean copper with salt and lemon juice. I know for sure this works, but baking sodas might as well.
I think I have an identical brass apple shaped bell that you link to. Mine was a gift when I was a teacher in the early 90s. One of the few teacher gifts I truly loved and kept.
I love this tip for cleaning brass, but I’m concerned it will remove more patina than I want. I like the aged look, but sometimes there are spots that I want to remove. I have an 1912 Craftsman, so aged brass looks better than shiny brass. Will it remove the spots while maintaining some patina?
You have to scrub pretty hard, and for a very long time, to get it going. Which is to say, it’s very easy to control how much patina you’re removing! A well, it’s not going to do a perfect job on older pieces, and there were still some patina stains left on the brass even after vigorous scrubbing.
Thank you! I’ll experiment on a vintage brass lamp I just bought really cheap, because I’m not as worried about the outcome on that. Then I can figure out how to apply to my more expensive hardware.
I JUST spent about an hour using Bon Ami on these awesome brass cabinet handles in the rental house we just bought. It worked… ok, but I’ll have to give this method a go. They need a little more love.
Bar Keeper’s Friend is another brand that you could try, but we like that this version uses two simple ingredients that everyone probably has on hand and is super cheap!
I never thought to use Bon Ami. I love it for so much cleaning, because it is gentle and also pretty cheap. Thanks for the tip!
This is a cool post but you guys missed a step- verify there is no lacquer coating on the brass! Frequently this was sprayed on to maintain shine, but ends up failing after a few decades. Gentle products like this won’t remove that, so you can scrub forever and get nowhere. If that’s the case, you’ll need lacquer thinner or paint stripper to get it off before proceeding to polish. (You can also use more aggressive products like BarKeepers Friend to get the lacquer off as you polish, but those tend to be mildly abrasive so you’ll likely end up with a brushed look from the light scratches it leaves.)
Thanks for the lovely tip 🙂 Sadly I can’t see the video (I also wasn’t able to see the video in the last post) for me there’s only text, a line break and then more text. Just wanted to report in case it’s helpful and also because I obvs am curious about the videos too 😉 – I’m using firefox for reference… best wishes!
Lisa, do you have an adblocker turned on?
Your blog is awesome i have some question from you how can i contact with you ?
Hi Roz, you can email us at hello@emilyhendersondesign.com xx
I’ve used BarKeeper’s Friend to shine solid brass before and it leaves a soft satin finish. It appears the baking soda/lemon method retains the shiny brass surface. Is that correct? Thanks!
I’ve always used salt and vinegar but this sounds good, thanks.
I managed to clean up some old brass with another kitchen ingredient that nearly everybody has lying around – ketchup! Left a thin coat covering the items for about an hour, then rub-a-dub-dub, rinse, wipe down with a cloth and you’re left with brass that still retains its beautiful patina.
If you need to remove lacquer from brass, you can boil it in water. Eventually the lacquer will peel off. I thought I needed to replace my house numbers, because they were so tarnished. It turned out that they were lacquered, but then the lacquer failed and trapped water underneath, accelerating the process of tarnishing. When I boiled them for 45 minutes and scrubbed them with either Barkeepers Friend or Bon Ami, they returned to their beautiful original state! Another tip: Always bring a magnet to flea markets and tag sales, so you can test for real brass.
Whelp, just found out I’m home with the family for a two week Coronavirus break. This post is very timely. The doorknobs in my 1928 home are dingy and really need a good polishing. Looks like I’ve got something on my to-do list. Thanks for the tips!
You know what else works…ketchup!! I swear it’s amazing!
catsup works also but mostly I use vinegar and salt. I add flour to make a paste. rinse off.