Give a Natural Shine to the Holidays: Metal Polishes

I like to make my home as beautiful and welcoming as possible during the holidays, and one way I do this is to polish all the silver, pewter, and brass, so it reflects the light of candles. Here are the formulas I use to polish safely and without chemicals:

Silver
If you have a small job, the best silver polish is white toothpaste. Dab some on your finger, and rub into the tarnish. For bigger pieces, use baking soda and a clean, damp sponge. Make a paste of baking soda and water. Scoop the paste onto the sponge, and rub the paste into the silver. Rinse with hot water and polish dry with a soft, clean cloth. For badly tarnished silver, leave the baking soda paste on the silver for an hour or so, before cleaning off with the help of the sponge and hot water.

Brass
There are easy, good ways to clean brass without using a synthetic commercial cleaner that may have toxic ingredients.

Most commonly used kitchen cupboard or refrigerator ingredients that contain a natural acid, such as vinegar, Tobasco Sauce, ketchup, tomatoes, milk, and lemon or lime juice, will remove tarnish on brass. The tarnish washes away with an acid rub or soak. You might have to remove the lacquer cover if the brass is new. Do this by submerging the brass in boiling water with a few teaspoons each baking soda and washing soda (available in the laundry section of the supermarket). Once the lacquer has peeled off, polish dry.

Pewter
It is hard to clean pewter, but the tarnished look is part of its appeal. The best folk formula I know to clean pewter is to grind up a piece of chalk and add enough vodka or gin to make a paste. Massage the paste onto the metal, rinse, and polish dry with a clean cloth.

By Annie B. Bond

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Elizabeth O.

2:27PM PDT on May 2, 2012

Useful tips.

send a green star

Kathleen L.

5:21PM PST on Jan 11, 2012

great stuff-- I have some brass to polish!

Michele W.

3:20PM PST on Dec 16, 2011

Thank you

Robyn L.

9:51PM PDT on Jul 28, 2011

gee, a lot of identical posts for a product here.

and a glaring typo. It is Tabasco sauce, after the tabasco pepper. Not "Tobasco."

I'm waiting for Care 2 to start editing and fact checking.

Jeff H.

1:40PM PDT on Jun 30, 2011

Annie, I respectfully disagree. Toothpaste should NEVER be used as a silver polish. Some toothpastes contain baking soda or other ingredients which are much too abrasive; even trace amounts can cause serious damage. Use polishes that are specifically formulated to remove tarnish from silver. My Web at hermansilver.com site contains proper silver cleaning techniques

Martin R.

9:37AM PDT on Jun 22, 2011

I have heard that you should put salt on a piece of lemon and rub it on brass. Common sense tells me that will scratch it! Try Brassmate on brass and copper. Just submerge a piece in it and move it around for 30 seconds. Thats it! No rubbing or scratching. Simple.

Nina B.

12:58PM PDT on Apr 29, 2011

A combination of salt and vinegar also works well on brass.

John S.

4:49AM PDT on Apr 28, 2011

It’s not crazy, but Ketchup or Worcestershire sauce really do clean brass. Use a clean, damp cloth to rub into your brass piece, and then wipe it clean.

9:47AM PDT on Apr 6, 2011

I figured out that mixing in gritty substances like baking soda or salt to recipes to clean metals will scratch them especially because you have to rub them on the surface to remove the tarnish. I just use Silvermate liquid silver cleaner that requires no rubbing and it doesn't scratch my silver and gold. I use Brassmate for my copper and brass. I got these products from my granddaughter and then asked a friend at the Grand Hyatt Washington that has used them for years and they highly recommended the products.

Adolphus A.

9:22AM PST on Nov 12, 2009

I have tried all the silver cleaners available and all the home recipes and I have found the best silver cleaner and silver cleaning process for my party rental company is Silvermate liquid silver cleaner. It takes around 30 seconds to clean a piece of silver without any rubbing at all. I love it! No more dirty hands and ruined silver from over-polishing. Being in the food service business, it is required to have the MSDS sheet and it says Silvermate is 96.4% water. Also they are nice people to deal with. www.silvermatecompany.com