See the “after Labor Day” thread to know I’m painting my front door inside and out this weekend.
It’s a beautiful wood dutch door original to the house we think (1925). Locks and handles quality pieces and will be beautiful shined up.
That’s where you come in.
I’m using a Brasso type cleaner and old socks. My arm is ready to fall off! Some spots really stubborn. Don’t expect to get 100%, but hoping for at least 85% clean. I have tried a toothbrush as well - trouble is, they get sunk and wore out quite fast.
Any tips on a product, method or item that might help the process along? I thought I’d be priming tonight, but no…
I have heard to apply car wax once everything is done!
Remove the hardware from the door and immerse it in a non-reactive receptacle in a solution of straight Koolaid powder (of the type that comes in little packets) mixed with half the amount of water called for (and no sugar). Any flavor will do. Depending on the size of the items, you may need several packets. Something like an old plastic juice pitcher works well and is sufficiently deep. It would not hurt to soak it overnight, although it is unlikely to be necessary. This will take off the big stuff. It will look muddy.
Then wash it off and finish with Never-Dull wadding polish. It comes in a blue can.
This method is foolproof, and was given to me by a Coast Guardsman I met years ago in a hardware store when I was perusing the brass polishes. And as you know, the Coast Guard and Navy really know how to polish brass.
Hmmm…I not willing to take it off - there are many parts - since it’s a Dutch door - top lock, upper huge handle, lower handle… so whatever I will do will be while on the door. So scrub with Koolaid powder? Or a spray bottle mixture?
Never-Dull is the only way to go. Old boot camp trick - once you have the shine the way you like it, seal it by using a q-tip doused in zippo lighter fluid.
I’ve used SOS pads to scrub brass, but you would want to test it on a small area someplace first if you can. Whether it works depends on the brass finish.
I get Never-Dull at the hardware store. It’s great stuff.
I suppose you could try spraying it with the Koolaid. Or maybe soak paper towels with it and lay them over the hardware. It’s the acid that does the work of taking off most of the tarnish. (Imagine what it does to your innards! ). Trick would be to keep it wet. You could do what some people do with paint stripper and lay plastic wrap on top.
@thumper1 , we have Shaw’s and Hannaford here. One of them has the packets, the other does not. Can’t recall which one. Presumably you could use the mix that includes sugar, but it is more expensive and you might have to alter the proportions to use even less water to get it strong enough. Alternately, you could probably buy some of whatever acid it is they use in the drink and use that. Acetic acid? Maybe our chemist, @BunsenBurner , could enlighten us, LOL.
Anyway, it is the ONLY way I will polish brass things. Last year I took off all of the door knobs and key plates and so forth on the doors on the first floor of my house and polished them. They are all heavily engraved/incised, so it was the only way. I also polished some antique brass items.
Well, they are as good as I’m going to get them! Spend the last 3-4 hours continuing work on all the brass and they are going to have to do as they are! I’d say I have 80% of the surface area overall achieved - more on some of the smaller pieces. My arms are ready to fall off! I realized I had some Bar Keeper at home so used that. I suppose if I still want to try more later I can, but I need to move onto priming and painting.
They do look SOO much better - solid brass cleaned is beautiful!
Koolaid contains citric acid that can complex metal ions, like copper ions in the oxide/salts crud that formed on the surface. If you google cutric acid for brass cleaning, there will be multiple links… lots of message board type that can’t be linked.
I first thought that Koolaid had some phosphoric acid salts that provide acid in the solution when dissolved. Apparently, it is now phosphate free - ?
I used an electric toothbrush with a firm bristle replacement heads, and Barkeeper’s Friend the last time I had to deep clean the intricate brass door hardware. I also use this for bathroom tile grout.
