Natural is always preferred...

I have been looking for a while for a solution to polishing brass without losing all the patina, and also without using harsh chemicals. I prefer to use more natural methods when I can - not only is it a better choice for the environment, but they can also save some green - cash, that is. I found a great option here. 

Lemon juice. Who knew it could polish brass, too? The trick is to make sure what you have is brass, and not just brass-plated. You can tell by using the magnet trick - if the magnet sticks, it's brass-plated. If it doesn't, well then you have the real deal.

So, I took all the hardware off the shorter dresser, and got to work. I used a bowl of lemon juice (100% juice - bottled), a bowl of warm water with a bit of dish soap it in to rinse off the juice, a towel to thoroughly dry off the handle when completed, and a toothbrush. I soaked each handle for about five minutes in the lemon juice before attacking with the toothbrush. Once I had gotten each handle to the look the way I wanted, I did a quick rinse-off in the warm water, and thoroughly dried each handle when done.


The results were amazing.

The top handle is pre-scrub. The bottom is post-scrub. I love how the handle didn't become completely polished - I still want some of the patina left on them, and it worked like a charm. I chose to use a toothbrush so I did not scratch the metal in any way. I have a heck of a lot of handles left to polish.

More to come once sanding is complete.