What is tarnish?

Tarnish is a layer of corrosion that forms over metals such as copper, brass, aluminium and many others. Tarnish occurs from the metal chemically reacting with sulphur in the air. In households this can tend to occur when jewellery is exposed to perfume, hairspray or cleaning products. This reaction leads to discolouration within the metal and there are different techniques that can be used to prevent or remove this. 

How to clean tarnished metal?

How to clean tarnished metal using soapy water?

 

What do I need?

• Warm Water
• Liquid Soap
• Bowl
• Cloth

Steps

1. Mix warm water and soap in a bowl. Ensure that foam starts to foam in bowl of water. Make sure there is enough water to fully submerge your metal piece
2. Soak item in solution for 12-15 minutes. Mix piece through the soapy water. Make sure the metal isn't exposed to the solution for too long as this can cause corrosion
3. Wipe item using cloth to remove tarnish. It is important that you do not wipe item too rough to avoid damaging it.

4. Rinse and dry item using towel. Ensure that there is no soap residue on piece. You can leave out to dry if you prefer.

How to clean tarnished metal using salt and lemon?

 

What do I need?

• Lemon Juice
• Cutting Board
• Salt

Steps

1. Cut Lemon into two. We only need one lemon piece at the moment so preserve the other piece. 
2. Put 2 teaspoons of salt on the one piece of lemon. The salt should stick to the lemon.
3. Scrub lemon onto the metal piece. Use the lemon as if it was a sponge and squeeze small amounts of juice out from the tarnished metal. Ensure that you scrub back and forth for the best results.

4. Rinse and dry item using towel. Make sure you rinse under warm water. Ensure that there is no lemon juice residue on piece. You can leave out to dry if you prefer.

 

How to clean tarnished metal using white vinegar?

 

What do I need? 

• Water
• Distilled White Vinegar
• Toothbrush
• Flour
• Salt

Steps

1. Create a 50/50 solution of water and white vinegar. Make sure there's enough solution to cover a toothbrush head.
2. Dip toothbrush into the water and vinegar solution. Ensure the toothbrush is brand new.
3. Scrub the metal piece with toothbrush. Continue to dip your brush in vinegar solution until your piece brightens up.

4. Rinse and dry item using towel. Make sure you rinse under warm water. Ensure that there is no vinegar solution residue on piece. You can leave out to dry if you prefer. 

How to prevent tarnished metal?

 

1. Anti-tarnish solution
2. Keep metal dry
3. Anti-tarnish slips
4. Store metal properly (away from moist areas)

 

Many people find a tarnished look on certain metal objects such as Brass quite fashionable. If you want this kind of look, you can access our blog on patina brass here. 

See more blog posts here