Unlacquered brass faucets are difficult to maintain as it’s more prone tarnishing. Therefore, we’ve got this how to clean unlacquered brass faucet tutorial for you to try!
Adding to the beauty and decor of the house is a new metal, Brass. Many of you might have one or the other area of the house which has brass fittings on it. Whether it’s the bathroom, kitchen, bedroom or the living area, this is the metal of the moment. Unlacquered brass has been in the trend due to its antique finish and classy look but there arises a problem. Unlacquered brass tarnishes very easily because of its unpolished and unfinished look. It gives the deserving beauty to your house, but no one would wish to display tarnished brass. To solve this problem, give a try to this tutorial on how to clean the unlacquered brass faucet.
What is unlacquered brass?
Brass is an alloy made with copper and zinc metals. Most of the time it is polished using lacquer, however, if left unlacquered or without polish, it tarnishes very quickly. You can protect your antiques and door locks, taps very easily by polishing them so that they are secured from further tarnishing. Now, you can achieve this either by using commercial polishing or through a polish made at home. This is the only way of protecting from tarnish because brass anyway will get in contact with air and turn dark.
Identifying the Brass
Before cleaning the brass in your house, you need to identify whether it’s lacquered or unlacquered. Just by following simple steps, you can easily get to know about the type of brass and the precise way of cleaning it.
If the brassware items in your house look tarnished, then they are most likely to be unlacquered. However, if the items are shiny even when you haven’t cleaned it for a long time, then it’s possibly because of a finishing coat, which is done in lacquered brass. Another way of identifying brass is by taking some metal cleaner in a damp soft cloth and rub gently on the brass surface. The appearance of black spots on the cloth proves that the metal is unlacquered as these terrible spots represent nothing but tarnish.
Maintenance of Unlacquered Brass
Before looking for any cleaning techniques you should initially consider the precise ways of maintaining it so that it doesn’t get tarnished. If the taps are made of brass then, cleanse it using a soft cloth after every use. Do not let any water spots stay on the item. Keeping it dry is the most important thing that should be kept in mind.
You can clean your brassware items using mild soaps with neutral pH balance and later clean it with water properly. Using a colored soap or soap with high pH levels will considerably harm the metal. If you are using or thinking of using any cleaners containing bleach, then stop right there because they will ruin the finishing of your brass item.
How To Clean Unlacquered Brass Faucet
You can very easily maintain the shine of brassware items in your house by following simple techniques. You can either clean it by using metal cleaners or using ingredients available at home.
1. Brasso
The most convenient way of cleaning tarnished brass is by using Brasso, a chemical cleaner used for removing tarnish. Brasso is available in liquid as well as a cleaning pad. Take a soft cloth and put Brasso on it and start rubbing until tarnish is completely removed. You can also soak the cloth in Brasso and then rub it on the brass faucet.
You can even go for other cleaning materials available in the market such as Twinkle brass and copper cleaning kit, blue magic and Wright’s brass polish among others. While using blue magic cleaner, polish the entire brass faucet with it and then clean with water. Now, apply a layer of wax paste on it and buff it with a soft cloth. This technique will bring back the original shine and brightness of your beautiful faucet. However, before employing any chemical cleaners make sure that you do a patch test on it. This is because the chemicals present in the cleaner may react with the metal which can ruin it.
How To Clean Unlacquered Brass Faucet- Home Remedies
1. Lemon and salt
Lemon and salt are excellent ingredients for cleaning brass because of the acidic nature of lemon. For a lightly tarnished brass faucet, cut a lemon into half and sprinkle table salt on it. Or you can make a thick paste of lemon juice and table salt. Start rubbing the paste on the surface of your brassware and leave it for a min or two. Buff using a clean cloth and rinse it with water. For heavily tarnished brass, make a paste using two parts of tartar cream with one part of lemon juice. Apply this paste and leave it for 30 minutes. Rinse thoroughly using warm water and rub using a clean and dry cloth.
2. Ketchup
Tomato ketchup is another way that can make your brass faucet shinier and better looking. This is because the tomato has a mild and capable acid of removing dirt and tarnish from brass. Apply tomato ketchup on the surface and leave it for 15-20 minutes. Now, clean it with water and dry it using a soft cloth. Another way of cleaning your brassware is by immersing it into tomato juice. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes and then pull it out followed by a rinse with lukewarm water and dry it with a soft cloth.
Points to remember
You should always wear gloves while using chemical cleaners as they can harm you. While cleaning brass, if you are using steel wool, then make sure it is not thicker than grade 00. Thicker steel wool may leave terrible scratches on the brass item. Protect brass from further tarnishing by applying an extremely thin layer of olive oil on it as it retards tarnish.