Polishing a Brass Door Knocker Help anyone!

[fox2star]

Hi,

We have a beautiful brass door knocker on our front door that is very old, but very ornate and pretty. It is tarnished and dull. Anyone have any recommendations that actually work? any homemade recipes for brass polish?

Thanks

Deb

 

[marnold]

Deb,

I don't have any homemade recipes but in the Navy we used Brasso. It works like a charm! Good luck!

 

[materialsgirl]

I found these recipes online - they're probably worth a try:
http://chemistry.about.com/cs/howtos/ht/brasscleaner.htm
http://www.care2.com/greenliving/brass-cleaner.html
So, it sounds like anything acidic should do the trick. Hope this helps!

 

[Miss Lee]

I use a product called Simichrome that I purchased in an antique shop. Several antique dealers have recommended it to me and it works beautifully on my antique brass candlesticks. I have 2 or 3 tubes of it and I'd be happy to send you one if you PM me with your address.
http://www.winterbrookfarmantiques....d=256?osCsid=7f286209eedd47016bfd7e73696c693e

ETA that Simichrome is recommended for use on uncoated metals.

 

[LauraMax]

A second for Brasso. I had hurricane lamps in my house in VA that were original (dated back to about 1890). I don't think they'd ever been cleaned, they were literally black.

A can of Brasso & steel wool made them look like new & incredibly beautiful! Also another little tip, spray it w/polyurothane (sp?) after it's cleaned, you'll never have to clean it again. ;-)

 

[EVCT]

I have an old mailbox that is brass and after reading these posts I cleaned it with cider vinegar. I clean everything with vinegar. It came out cleaner but with dark spots. I'm going out to buy Brasso!
Ellen

 

[fox2star]

Thanks so much for all the suggestions! I will try any and all until I get this danged thing to shine again!

Deb