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We have a number of antique copper pieces we have pickup around the world... They all need cleaning... Does anyone know of a quick and EASY WAY to clean badly tarnished copper?  I have looked on line and tried most of the suggestions... I would rather send them out for cleaning if there is such a service...

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6 minutes ago, rvanparys said:

Does anyone know of a quick and EASY WAY to clean badly tarnished copper?

I have some copper things to clean too,  plus 4 engraved  brass items about 100 years old.  Up to about 10 years ago they had a liquid cleaner at SuperLake....expensive but really worked. No more. Have tried the  sea salt /cut side of fresh límon trick but not happy with results. Powdered stuff useless. So add me to the   "seeking" list!

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I only have 55+ experience with antiques[including copper, brass,bronze,silver,pewter,etc.]. I never destroy the patina on antique copper or even my copper, lined with pewter, beer mug from england circa 1960 which I merely wash after use.I will use Brasso on a very few items but never antiques.  the following are items I picked and sold to "knowledgeable" dealers. art nouveau candle holder circa 1900. hudson bay company trade pot,1st quarter 19th century. turkish cook pot circa 1850 brought to canada by a ukrainian settler.

ukr copper cooking pot.JPG

HB copper pot.JPG

copper candleholder.jpg

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If it was lacquered, there would be no discolouration from oxidation on the copper in the first place. I was going to suggest lacquering the piece after cleaning it to prevent it from requiring that kind of heavy duty cleaning ever again. But I don't particularly like bright shiny copper.

I have a solid silver rose bought in Taxco about twenty years ago. It's black now and it can stay that way.

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In lacquered copper tarnishes overe years..andnd you cannot clean it because the lacquer is still on..  Nothing is 100 per cent over the years..  ued to have lots and lors of copper in France when I grew up and boy am i happy it is not fashionable anymore

 

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In the USA they would use a sand blaster with ground pecan shells. Here you might buy a rag wheel for your drill with a little jewlers rougre which is slightly abrasive.

This is the way many rings get polished. Ask a  jewler where to purchase. 

It should look like this:It should look like this from Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/SCOTTCHEN-Extra-Buffing-Polishing-grinder/dp/B07BGV23GK/ref=sr_1_6?keywords=rag%2Bwheel&qid=1650929887&sr=8-6&th=1

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19 hours ago, geeser said:

In the USA they would use a sand blaster with ground pecan shells. Here you might buy a rag wheel for your drill with a little jewlers rougre which is slightly abrasive.

This is the way many rings get polished. Ask a  jewler where to purchase. 

It should look like this:It should look like this from Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/SCOTTCHEN-Extra-Buffing-Polishing-grinder/dp/B07BGV23GK/ref=sr_1_6?keywords=rag%2Bwheel&qid=1650929887&sr=8-6&th=1

There are mostly bad suggestions on here but this is really really the worst by far. I used that with rubbing compound on my moto engine.

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some people like to keep the patina of age and some do not . There is no bad suggestion. The op want to have her copper look clean and not like if it has been forgotten somewhere. To each its own. I like shiny clean copper and do not like the dull look you are showing. Again no one is right or wrong it is a question of taste.

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3 minutes ago, bmh said:

some people like to keep the patina of age and some do not . There is no bad suggestion. The op want to have her copper look clean and not like if it has been forgotten somewhere. To each its own. I like shiny clean copper and do not like the dull look you are showing. Again no one is right or wrong it is a question of taste.

nothing wrong with shiny clean copper unless it's antique. I made an exception with this circa 1907 electric brass chandelier which I  had in 3 houses and treated with brasso every 6 months which entailed taking apart and reassembling.

east greatroom.jpg

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to each their own is pretty selfish when it refers generally to ANTIQUES. But hey it happens all the time everywhere so maybe people with that attitude will restore Notre dame with a whole bunch of glass and chrome because that's more modern and shiny. The OP asked what to do with antiques. Sure like to see some fotos of what they speak.

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1 hour ago, happyjillin said:

nothing wrong with shiny clean copper unless it's antique. I made an exception with this circa 1907 electric brass chandelier which I  had in 3 houses and treated with brasso every 6 months which entailed taking apart and reassembling.

east greatroom.jpg

Well that's the way it would have looked originally.  Even from here you can see it is a real beauty!

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2 hours ago, happyjillin said:

Obviously none of you have ever been taught the care and maintenance  of antique brass objects so as to maintain their monetary and historical value.

Some people may prefer to enjoy the stuff themselves in the way they like it to look, and not be interested in the monetary or historical value. 

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I spent a few summers as a kid polishing brass musical instruments.  Dip it an acid to remove lacquer, buff out the metal on a machine with a cotton wheel and buffing compound white rouge, repeat with red rouge, mount the instrument on mandrel in a vice, cut strips of cotton cloth about 1" wide and 18" long and apply brasso.  You wrap the cloth strips around the tubular pieces and have at it in a back and forth movement.  Finish it off with a piece of clean soft cotton. Degrease.  Lacquer.  Done.  Yeah so to answer OP, there is no Easy way. 

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