2 lamps, 2 candle holders, a bunch of vases - some plain some with filigree work, a few pitchers and an old double inkwell!

I didn't wash them actually - didn't even think to - but will do it right away. Never heard of Bix or Zip Strip - I'll try it on one of the plain vases.

Thanks a LOT Linda.

I can highly recommend Amway's "L.O.C. Plus" metal cleaner. I have a brass table, 2 brass floor lamps and plenty of copper to clean on a regular basis. LOC Plus shortens the time; it begins to clean before it's even rubbed around on the metal.

My husband bought me a copper tea kettle last Christmas. (not sure why he thought this was a good idea, since I hate cleaning things like this, but I do use it) I have tried to clean this with Cream of Tartar with no use, now parts of it are black. I then went and bought copper cleaning paste, which I think it made it worse.

Can anybody suggest anything? I would like to put it back on my stove, when it's shiny it looks nice.

Thanks in advance!

I had heard something about lemon juice & salt but will have to dig around to see where I have put the info. In the meantime I found this site that has a suggestion using flour & vinegar.
www.repair-home.com/Cleaning_Copper.html

I checked out the web site you suggested, some really good tips. I guess I will be spending part of my weekend trying to get it shiny again. Thanks for the web site.

Bon Ami and vinegar, make a paste and rub gently with a cloth. Use a soft toothbrush with this paste for the crannies.

i agree with linda that just about anything you want to polish/clean should be washed in hot, soapy water first. if there is any grease or nicotine or anything like it on the surface, it will just impede your cleaning efforts. i don't know about copper, but i got this "recipe" for cleaning brass from a neighbor many years ago and it works well.

mix equal parts of salt and flour, then add enough vinegar to make a paste. wipe it over the surface of the brass and let it sit for an hour or so. wipe/rub it off and then wash it and dry with a terrycloth towel.

Bahston, your teakettle probebly had laquer on it and needs to have that removed before it will polish well. since it's probably been burned on...peint stripper will be the best way to remove it....just don't get any on the handle if it's finished wood.
Linda C

Probably the best brass cleaner is Semi-Chrome. Kind of expensive. Little tube for about $5. I had to order this as no one here seemed to have even heard of it. But there is a lot of rubbing involved. My husband cleaned some of my brass decor with the fine steel wool and the Brasso and it worked very well.

My parents used to have a copper-topped table we cleaned by scrubbing it with a vinegar-salt paste, but the best thing I've found for any metal is Maas. The are often ads for it in the Sunday supplements, and I think if you just Google Maas, or Maas polish you should find it. Wenol, although more difficult to find, is also excellent.

Wenol can be found at williams somona but I like red bear for brass and copper

I know this sounds too cheap; environmentaly friendly and easy to be true; but YOGHURT works miracles on brass and silver___ even items that haven*t been polished for years:

Smear a generous amount of youghurt on the item; leave it to stand for a couple of hours: Wash it in water and dry it with a clean cloth:

People will think you have been pollishing for hours: _It even removes old Brasso:

I meant, of course, to write brass and copper, not brass and silver!!

Lemon Juice & Salt mixed work fine for copper. I just use it for the bottom of my Revere pans with no specific proportions. Just sprinkle some lemon juice, then a little salt & rub. Have never tried it on brass so can't tell ya about that.

A relative gave me some candle sticks that were tarnished. My mom cleaned them up for me. Then she did something I thought was quite clever. She wrapped them is a soft cloth (seperately) and using her vacume sealer for food, seal each one in an air tight bag. So when I want to use them, they will look as lovely as the day she polished them!

Several months ago I finished a multi-media sculpture for a business. I visited it yesterday and found that some of the c

copper has turned black. From the pattern of it, I wonder if it was caused by oil from my hands touching it but it could also be from glass cleaner (used nearby) or maybe adhesive. I assumed I would use brasso to get rid of it but I have learned from reading this discussion that may not be best. PLEASE ADVISE. Thanks for any help you can offer!

Did you heat the copper to attach the figures? Were they soldered onto the copper? Or is there a heat source behind the panel? If so, I'd create a test panel and use some of the above suggestions for cleaning and see how you like the results.

The figures are made of wood and were glued on. No heat involved at all. And no adhesive where the copper is now black. The outer layer is Plexiglas.