16 Feb How to Clean Bronze Tools and Equipment

Bronze statues and jewellery should be cleaned from time to time, especially if the statue is outside or a piece of jewellery is used regularly. Fortunately, some of the best bronze cleaners are household ingredients. Cleaning bronze tools can take time from a few minutes to overnight, using boiling water, vinegar, lemon juice, salt, flour, or a combination of these to do your work easily. This article is specific to the methods that you use as a home and completely natural method for cleaning bronze tools, which includes dishes, and decorative items such as chandeliers, mirrors, candlesticks, etc. Stay tuned to the end of this article.

Cleaning bronze tools and equipment

First method: Make a mixture of vinegar, flour and salt to clean bronze

Mix ⅔ cup (158 ml) of white vinegar and ⅔ cup (158 ml) of flour in a bowl. Use a bowl that is large enough to allow you to mix the two ingredients without the flour spreading all over the place. Stir the two until thoroughly combined. Then add half a cup (118 ml) of salt to your mixture and shake. Be careful that your mixture should be a paste of flour and salt. Then apply the paste to the bronze. You can use a glove and a sponge for this solution.

If your item is something small like a piece of jewellery, place your jewellery in the bowl making sure your item is completely covered in the paste. Then let it sit for 1-2 hours and rinse your bronzer with warm water. After 1-2 hours, put your jewellery on the sink and wash it in lukewarm water. If your bronze is big and you can’t move it, take a container or a bucket of lukewarm water and pour the water on it to make the dough evenly. Rinse thoroughly. Then use a soft cloth, such as a woollen or leather cloth, to dry a bronzer. While drying, pat the bronzer with a towel to remove any dirt, making sure it’s completely dry and the paste is removed. Then apply a little olive oil to the bronze. (Add a few drops of olive oil to a soft clean cloth and rub it on the surface of the bronze.) Olive oil has been a method of cleaning and protecting bronze since ancient times.

Second method: Using household items to clean bronze

Using ketchup

Ketchup has vinegar and acid in its composition; so, it’s a good option for cleaning the surface of oxidized metals, especially silver and bronze. For this, place your bronze device in a suitable place and pour enough ketchup on its surface. Then spread it. If the dimensions of your bronzer are small, you can fill a container with ketchup and place the device completely in it.

Now give 20 to 30 minutes and wait for the ketchup ingredients to take effect. Then clean the bronze surface from ketchup and metal oxide residue with a cotton cloth. You will see how shiny and new the bronze is. Using ketchup to clean bronze is one of the simple yet very effective ways to make bronze shine. After removing the ketchup, wash the bronzer and dry it quickly.

Using lemon

Lemon is also a natural acid and suitable for cleaning bronze. Squeeze some lemon juice and apply it to the cotton surface. Continue doing this until you feel that you have reached the desired level of bronzing. Of course, the more effective method is to prepare some lime juice and place the bronze object in it completely for 20 to 30 minutes.

Then clean the bronze surface with a microfiber cloth preferably soaked in the same lemon juice. Finally, so that the effect of the acid doesn’t remain on the bronze for a long time, wash and dry it. Note that the effect of this solution is usually less than ketchup. Because the pH of vinegar is more acidic than lemon juice. But this method can also be a good solution for cleaning bronze gently. If you’re used to cleaning bronze equipment regularly and in short intervals, using lemon juice is a good solution for making it shiny.

Using white vinegar

To use white vinegar to clean bronze, you should follow the same procedure as lemon juice. You should either clean the bronze surface with cotton soaked in vinegar until the metal oxide is completely removed from the bronze surface, or use a more effective method, i.e. submerge the bronze object in a sufficient amount of vinegar.

Note that in general and in any way you use the flooding method, you must place the bronze object in the solution for about half an hour; Then clean its surface well with a suitable cloth to completely remove the oxidized parts from the bronze surface. Don’t forget the final washing with water and drying. As you know, the presence of water and humidity accelerates the process of oxidation and rusting of metals. Therefore, we put a lot of emphasis on drying the bronze body after washing.

Using a combination of vinegar and baking soda

Baking soda is a powerful cleaner for everything! The combination of white vinegar and baking soda is also always miraculous. Mix some vinegar and baking soda to form a paste-like consistency. Using a glove, apply this paste generously on the bronze surface. For more effect, you can add a little salt to this mixture so that it becomes a scrub and slightly wears the bronze surface. Salt shouldn’t be the dominant part of the dough; So don’t add too much salt. Because it may cause scratches on the metal surface, wait half an hour for the paste to remain on the silver surface and then wash it off.

Third method: Cleaning bronze tools using boiling water and soap 

Place your device in a pot of boiling water or on the stove. Then choose a pot that is large enough to hold your entire bronze object and boil the water first. After that place your bronze in the pot and Wait for two minutes until it heats up and boils.

If your item is too large to fit in a pot of boiling water, use another cleaning method. Carefully remove the item from the pot. Use tongs to remove your item from the boiling water or use a colander to drain the water. place the colander in the sink and carefully drain the water from the pot. Don’t go out and dip a flannel cloth in soapy water. Note that the flannel cloth should be soapy and full of foam. Then use it to remove the hot bronze tool.

Rub it completely with a cloth and remove any stains by gentle rubbing. Be sure to use natural and odourless soap. Avoid using alkaline soaps that contain sodium hydroxide as an ingredient. If your bronze is varnished, avoid using detergents or solutions made from ammonia; It can damage your bronze coating. Also, be careful not to burn yourself if the bronze is still very hot. You can use this cloth as a barrier between your skin and the bronze. Then dry the bronzer with suede leather. Suede leather is sheepskin coated with natural oils and is known for being absorbent and non-abrasive, so it won’t damage your bronzer.

Forth method: Polishing the bronze tools’ surface with metal polish

Although this solution isn’t with natural and homemade products, it’s one of the best ways to clean bronze. If the problem of bronze tarnishing is acute, using metal polish is the best solution. The materials used to polish the metal surface are known as the brand name polisher.

Polisher is a paste that is generally packaged in a tube and is easily found in the market. To polish bronze with a polisher, be sure to use gloves and avoid direct skin contact with it. Dip some cotton in it and lightly polish the bronze surface. You will see what an amazing effect this substance has on bronze.

Three important points for those interested in bronze products

• If you live in humid climates, you should know that your bronze items are more prone to tarnishing than other geographical areas. So you have to clean bronze and polish it in shorter time intervals.
• If you have bronze products at home, preferably use a water air cooler and even if possible, change the home cooling system. If you underestimate the effect of the cooler in raising humidity, we suggest placing a container of chips or puffs in the winding path of the water air cooler for a few minutes. You will see how the food absorbs moisture.
• For normal dusting of bronze tools, never use detergents and cleaners. These ingredients aren’t formulated for this purpose. To do this, dust the bronze surface with a microfiber cloth moistened with water or wash it with water. Then dry it quickly.

To wrap up

Cleaning bronze tools is one of the essentials of maintaining them. Because bronze is a metal that oxidizes in the vicinity of the air willy-nilly. So now and then there will be a need to electrify the bronze. If you don’t have the opportunity or patience to wash your clothes, you can count on the specialised NeatEx team. With the most advanced tools and the latest knowledge, we will deliver your clothes of the best quality as soon as possible. Don’t damage your valuable clothes with improper washing. NeatEx washes your clothes best and ensures you have clean and tidy clothes.