How To Make Your Own BRASS POLISH (Cheap & Easy)

All you need is: Salt, vinegar and flour. This is an ancient antique recipe and method. It’s cheap and easy to make and it works wonderfully. Let me know how it works for you
Here’s my video on how to make Silver Polish • How To Make Your Own S...
Do you have fabulous antiques to talk about, or for me to to sell for you? I’m always looking for interesting items and people to feature and make films about here on my channel
Please get in touch!
Thanks
David
#antiques #antiquesroadshow #antiquesroadtrip #bargainhunt #Antiques #american antiques roadshow #brassClean #brass #how to clean brass #how to clean brass at home #how to clean brass idols #cleaning brass #how to clean brass with vinegar #antiques roadshow full episode #davidharper

[@asimplealtar]

I tried this and it worked insanely well. I love that it's cheap and natural too. Thank you!

[@DavidHarperAntiques]

Great to hear! thank you

[@michaelkoznarsky7911]

I tried this using 4oz of vinegar append a tsp of salt. I needed 8 tbl of flour to make it into a paste. It didn’t work as well on KZbin but, after two applications, got a lot of the dirt off esp in the tough to work places like chains, making the use of Brasso much easier. Thanks - while it wasn’t as spectacular as your demonstration, it was helpful. And, as an added bonus, the application of the goopy mix on the brass and it was such a satisfying feeling!

[@alisoncrawford1181]

Brilliant cheap option, thanks for sharing the hack. Love your kitchen David

[@DavidHarperAntiques]

Thanks 👍

[@joartym6649]

Just made the paste and your right😊 As I was slapping mine on thick with a circular motion, I could see this easy cheap paste working. It's now just sitting, and to think 🤔our grand & great grand parents methods work better and are much cheaper than the modern poisonous bottles e.g. Brasso $13.50 atm.🙄

[@DavidHarperAntiques]

Fantastic, thank you for letting me know and you’re right, sometimes we need to take a few steps back and learn from our ancestors!

[@docgypsy007]

Blown away at how well this works... Goodbye Brasso

[@DavidHarperAntiques]

Wonderful to hear

[@janmorgan8478]

David! Dear man, what a trick, down here in Australia, I was told to use good old tomato sauce, any brand! Used it on old brass pieces on an old harness & leads for a a very old horse-drawn milk cart, worked very well too! Thank you very much, all the best!😊

[@DavidHarperAntiques]

My pleasure, thanks for watching

[@agomodern]

Learned as a kid to use ketchup to polish pennies, so no doubt it would work with brass. Stinks though.

[@VintageCarHistory]

Okay. I'm an old US Navy veteran. The brass polish that we used for all of the brass on a warship was... Kool Aid. We called it, 'Bug Juice', but we would take an unsweetened package of the stuff- any flavor will do; and just soak the piece in it. The acids in the Kool Aid would remove any tarnish.

[@DavidHarperAntiques]

Brilliant and actually much easier!

[@OriginalNethead]

Best use for Kool Aid ever, other than hair dye. You certainly can't drink the stuff!

[@lydiahubbell6278]

any vinegar-distilled white?

[@VintageCarHistory]

@@lydiahubbell6278 It's not vinegar- it's citric acid.

[@MrNicho06]

How long do you soak it?

[@johneubanks5951]

I gave this polish recipe a try and wow, it worked extremely well. I used a new 2" angeled paint brush during rinse to help get in the small places..thanks for the video and information 👍🇺🇲

[@DavidHarperAntiques]

My pleasure and thanks for letting me know

[@Jocular-mt3jb]

My wife bought a rather large (30"x15"x12") with lid, brass ornate log basket that may never have been cleaned since it was made in Victorian times, Before seeing this video had spent 2 hours cleaning and polishing the lid, cleaned the sides in the way shown here and it took less than 10 minutes to clean find and mix the ingredients and apply to one side and wipe of carefully with wet rag (I did this in the kitchen). Amazing.

[@DavidHarperAntiques]

That is fantastic to hear, thank you for taking the time to let me know

[@evanoraad9059]

Loved your work sir 🥰🙏

[@DavidHarperAntiques]

thank you

[@sandralittler4363]

What an amazing tip. I used Brasso on some old brass weights and they were ok’ish but I tried this and it brought them up like new. Thank you!

[@DavidHarperAntiques]

That’s fantastic to hear. Than you for letting me know

[@ByrRaven]

Wow! Thanks David.

[@jdprice3043]

THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP

[@anupamac7958]

thankyou for this recipe..,worked amazingly well for me. I add 1 table spoon of baking soda extra ...

[@DavidHarperAntiques]

@@anupamac7958 Great to hear, thank you

[@Dakiniwoman]

I just cut a fresh lemon in half and start rubbing the cut side on the brass... it works instantly, you don't have to leave it at all ... just keep rubbing using the lemon half and it will just come clean before your very eyes... I make cubes of lemon juice in ice cube trays as well so I always have lemon juice available in the freezer and I can use the lemon juice frozen cube to rub over my brass table tops to clean them. I have a huge, extensive collection of brass trays, table tops and brass dishes so I need to clean a lot of brass. I always use lemon juice...

[@DavidHarperAntiques]

Good info thank you

[@TheClutchCraft]

can you do a video about identifying old brass, and also wether this mix effects other materials or wether it’s safe on wood, iron etc etc

[@grannytakesatrip1128]

Met him at Wetherby racecourse when he was filming an episode of Bargain Hunt and came across as a nice decent bloke. Just bought some brass stuff will give this a try. Thanks, David.

[@DavidHarperAntiques]

Thank you. Let us all know if it works!

[@miapdx503]

I looked this up because I have a brass of the ship Constitution. It's old, my parents had it longer than they had me, and I'm in my 60s. Wish me luck, can't wait to see her shine! 🌹⚓

[@DavidHarperAntiques]

Good luck!

[@phoenixperry8023]

Thank you!! This worked perfectly.

[@DavidHarperAntiques]

Love to hear that. Thanks for letting me know.

[@zGJungle]

Going to give this a go, I have some GWR lamps coming soon and they are quite dull/dirty, this method seems very easy and effective.

[@DavidHarperAntiques]

Brilliant, let us know how it works out

[@gc6497]

waaaaaa beautiful I will try it !!!!

[@nahlazaki5170]

Thanks, will try soon

[@DavidHarperAntiques]

You’ll enjoy it I’m sure !

[@rooroob]

Could you one day do a video about when NOT to polish an item? Seems like people either polish everything or polish nothing for fear of losing patina. I am sure some things should be polished and present the way they were made to look. But when is it bad to polish?

[@DavidHarperAntiques]

Good idea. I will

[@user-lk5tf5it9x]

That would be great info!

[@DavidHarperAntiques]

Please do share your favourite DIY cleaning solutions or tips for maintaining antiques. Thanks, David

[@Bella-ji5ok]

Thank you for this, Could you use this for any other metals, like copper and or silver?

[@DavidHarperAntiques]

My pleasure. No, It doesn’t work on silver or copper…but, I have a video here on how to make your own silver polish

[@curlyfurpuppyltd8817]

Yes we have vinegar, salt and flour. Tnx for this tip.

[@sreville]

Absolute pleasure to watch, great presentation 😁

[@DavidHarperAntiques]

Thank you so much, really appreciate it

[@GraceMasilela]

Thank you

[@DavidHarperAntiques]

My pleasure

[@docgypsy007]

Thank you for sharing

[@DavidHarperAntiques]

My pleasure

[@sallyjanepreston]

Can you use apple/wine vinegar, as malt vinegar is impossible to buy here in the Eastern Med?

[@DavidHarperAntiques]

Yes I’m certain they’d work the same

[@sallyjanepreston]

That's great news! Thank you.@@DavidHarperAntiques

[@MFortescue]

Thanks for the video, David. Are you using table salt or sea salt? Does it make a difference?

[@DavidHarperAntiques]

Just normal table salt

[@StillYHWHs]

​@DavidHarperAntiques Vinegar and baking soda. Works well too. If you soak anything in it. I love the paste idea. Going to do your way right now. Thank you again.

[@eddieclemente9949]

Amazing ...I'll try it's very effective

[@DavidHarperAntiques]

Good luck

[@JHall-jo9rm]

This definitely works. For those who use the boiling method - this is just simply less time consuming, because after boiling w/vinegar - you are SCRUBBING. This has the same results. Neither process (boiling or this one) will attack deep tarnish that is pitted. But we needed a brightening/cleaning, not a resurfacing, as my client wants her drawer pulls to still be "old", not brand new. Thanks for this great tip! I definitely prefer this method!

[@DavidHarperAntiques]

Thank you so much for the comment, really appreciate it

[@catesimpson3714]

This worked brilliantly. on a brass name plate. I followed up with 800 1200 grade wet n dry it it produced a brilliant shine. Forget Brasso

[@DavidHarperAntiques]

Fantastic to hear, thank you

[@robertrickman3531]

I'm restoring and Old PUB Foot Rail that is Nasty in some places...Thanks for the "recipe"

[@DavidHarperAntiques]

Fabulous…good luck

[@robertrickman3531]

@DavidHarperAntiques I used Lemon Juice, Flour and Salt... WOW!!

[@victorypath4]

It's 2024 NoV 1st... OMG results are amazing 😍😍😍

[@DavidHarperAntiques]

Fantastic, I love to hear it. Thank you

[@loretomurraylm]

Fantastic thank you 🙏

[@DavidHarperAntiques]

You're very welcome

[@user-lk5tf5it9x]

Ty and trying it now!

[@DavidHarperAntiques]

Good luck, hope it works well

[@user-lk5tf5it9x]

@@DavidHarperAntiques It worked very well! Amazing and telling friends!

[@maisie2802]

It WORKS brilliantly!!

[@DavidHarperAntiques]

Fabulous to hear, thanks for letting me know

[@aaronhisminiatures6129]

This works INSANELY well, i do have a question about copper that remains behind on heavily tarnished brass, does that go away? Or do u have to polish it with something else? Thanks in advance 😊

[@DavidHarperAntiques]

Thank you for watching and trying it out. You could repeat the process, that should help

[@aaronhisminiatures6129]

@@DavidHarperAntiques awesome, thank you :)

[@kirtandrews1859]

Hello there david. Fantastic video. May i ask would you know a hkmemade cleaner for pewter ? I have a stunning little pewter jewellery box but its darkened so much. Id love to polish it up sparkly shiny again. I would like it clesn for my bedside as a jewellery holder. Thank you so much.

[@DavidHarperAntiques]

I’ll be making a vid for pewter soon!

[@kirtandrews1859]

@DavidHarper2020 Oh fantastic I shall watch out for it. Thank you

[@pchabanowich]

Yay! Bless.💐

[@DavidHarperAntiques]

🤗

[@pchabanowich]

I tried it and it works! What's not to love? However, it did not work on nickle bronze flatware. I really doubt anything does - maybe a dremel tool with a polishing fixture and some kind of paste... do you have any ideas? The flatware is actually ugly if one can't restore the initial gleam.

[@AlphonseWeebay]

Very wholesome video

[@DavidHarperAntiques]

Thank you

[@NothingMakesSense28]

thanks!! it worked

[@DavidHarperAntiques]

You're welcome!

[@OlgaSiakh]

Thankyou

[@DavidHarperAntiques]

You’re welcome 😊

[@Jocular-mt3jb]

Great advice thank you

[@andrewmishin7460]

This works so well Does it only work for brass?

[@DavidHarperAntiques]

yes, only for brass…doesn’t work on copper!

[@happiness4812]

Give it a fantastic wallop😂😂😂

[@harrymohamad]

Tq u so much Sir. Hug from Malaysia

[@DavidHarperAntiques]

So nice of you, thank you

[@rochellekerr7857]

Worked a treat thankyou!!

[@DavidHarperAntiques]

You're welcome!

[@vitharanachami4001]

Thank you 💐

[@abeginnerspov5968]

what flour is that? Whole wheat or refined wheat flour?

[@OriginalNethead]

I'd imagine cheap distilled vinegar would work fine, but wine vinegar shows up on camera. Measurements in Metric 30ml flour, 125ml vinegar, 5ml salt. Or thereabouts. I've been known to use good old American Ketchup to do the same thing on pieces I can't toss into the sink to rinse. The ketchup does the same trick and you wipe off with a damp paper towel. It has been known to stain old brass, but it works to get rid of corrosion on jewelry and other bits.

[@mrswang5574]

It worked! Why does it look coppery and not yellow? Does that just need a couple hours?

[@DavidHarperAntiques]

trying again wouldn’t be a bad idea. otherwise, that’s just the way it is

[@Kuchbhiyaar.]

Is it wheat flour or all purpose flour?

[@TheClutchCraft]

I’m back! Do you know whether this would work with copper too? And/ or any other metals other than brass

[@TheClutchCraft]

I presume so since brass is an alloy containing copper and zinc

[@DavidHarperAntiques]

Doesn’t work on copper!!

[@CChapman-dk8hc]

Could i use this method on an old brass phone? Was just off to Sainsburys to buy brasso, may have to rethink this one 🤔

[@DavidHarperAntiques]

Absolutely yes !

[@CChapman-dk8hc]

@DavidHarperAntiques I used this method lastnight and was blown away by the results, wish I could send before and after pics .. I regrettably bought brasso just incase, that was a waste of money!! Thanks 👍🏻

[@DavidHarperAntiques]

@@CChapman-dk8hc fabulous to hear, thank you

[@myrahouse2368]

They are exactly the same as mine I was worn out cleaning them with Brasso.

[@DavidHarperAntiques]

This is much more fun!

[@janisnelson26]

Thank you so much David. Do you have a recipe for silver?

[@VintageCarHistory]

Harry Potter may have a recipe for silver- though traditional alchemy tried to make gold...

[@DavidHarperAntiques]

Yes I do. coming soon!

[@OriginalNethead]

Not one of those dip thing that take off the patina... please G-d not that. I generally use a sunshine cloth, one of the silver polish pastes (can you find Maas?) or for small jewelry items, a good old thumb. Skin acids take off tarnish, although your fingers get mighty black in the process.

[@Darlene-zw2ki]

You're awesome !!!

[@DavidHarperAntiques]

@@Darlene-zw2ki Thsts very kind of you

[@savannaharvey]

I can't tell if that's balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar? I tried white vinegar with salt and no luck yet, thank you!

[@JJs_Horological_Collection]

Hi David! I just bought a miniature brass carriage clock but the brass has seemed to go to a black ish sorta colour. Would this work on it too?

[@DavidHarperAntiques]

Yes it should

[@OneBrightLightTN]

Please help! I purchased some old brass chambersticks and this method cleaned them but now there are bright pink spots, how do I remove the pink color?

[@DavidHarperAntiques]

Sorry, I wouldn't have a clue…maybe something on them there that’s reacted? You could try the paste again just on those sections?

[@shelleypenn7577]

👏👏👏

[@tooyoungtobeold8756]

You had an simple shape to clean I have Turkish lantern to clean. It turned out very blotchy.

[@DavidHarperAntiques]

Shouldn't make any difference what shape it is!

[@irisheyes0058]

Fantastic, would baking soda be a better alternative to the flour tho I'm thinking?

[@A6Legit]

I've seen that online but it doesn't make sense to me. Baking soda neutralizes vinegar. The whole point is to have the acid remove the tarnish.

[@NormanFox-wm8im]

Will this work on copper

[@DavidHarperAntiques]

No, it doesn’t work on copper

[@rasharasho5697]

Can i use white vinegar?

[@jwoo888]

What is the best way to remove the polish from a lamp? Just a wet washcloth or something of the like? I love this easy recipe. U would much rather use something made with natural ingredients than a chemical based product.

[@DavidHarperAntiques]

You’ll need a bit more than water. Try a bit of washing up liquid to break up the polish and dry well…thanks for watching

[@jwoo888]

@@DavidHarperAntiques Thank you.

[@mochipii]

I just turned my brass vase pink, dipping it in citric acid solution for ten minutes only because it was super tarnished. I used 2 tbsp of citric acid in 5 liters of water. Help.

[@DavidHarperAntiques]

Try this method, it hopefully will work?

[@AZFOSTERMOM-gb6mq]

🖤🖤🖤

[@luciferpain1661]

Why couldn't you mention the type of vinegar and flour that you used. Was it self rising flour or regular flour?

[@agomodern]

I've realized that I've been polishing brass the wrong, way, (Well, only tried it on 2 pieces.) but I still prefer the century and a half year old patina.

[@attiqaanwar8238]

Whats is name of third item what type of powder he used

[@DavidHarperAntiques]

It’s in the video

[@speedypaul2314]

Any magic recipe for wood without French polishing.

[@DavidHarperAntiques]

Yes, on the way!

[@1mrpoo]

it worked

[@DavidHarperAntiques]

Brilliant!

[@IndiaDouroux]

What kind of vinegar

[@Blackfire970]

It's like a magic 😮 one question Can we use synthetic white vinegar for it?

[@DavidHarperAntiques]

best to stick to traditional vinegar

[@aacefamily4956]

Distilled white vinegar works much better than malt vinegar.

[@A_O-o3p]

i tried it it did not work as intended I had to use lime and back stuff started to come off

[@damianleah6744]

We as children in our family in the 1970s had to polish the “brasses” . So now I hate the thought of it . Brasses and flock wallpaper….. eek! 🤣🤣

[@DavidHarperAntiques]

I remember something similar!!

[@fado792]

How to remove the original patine to make and old thing look new and worthless.

[@DavidHarperAntiques]

You obviously haven’t watched the video! They’re intentionally not made to look new. And by the way, these candle sticks were never designed to turn black. They were designed to be cleaned and cared for

[@fado792]

@@DavidHarperAntiques Look at the Dutch interior (""genre"") paintings. Of course they were kept proper and shiny. They were new. When you do it today you devaluate e.g a cooking pot with 80 percent in price and you will never know if its old. And by the way. All the oak furniture of the 17th century are not sanded also. But your candler is max 50 y.o. . Thats no problem. Sorry for intervening.

[@DavidHarperAntiques]

@@fado792 These are Victorian, circa 1860

[@fado792]

@@DavidHarperAntiques question of taste: I would not modernise them.

[@DavidHarperAntiques]

@@fado792 The video is about how to make your own traditional brass polish. You’ve taken a completely different stance on it!

[@libertyesq]

I tried it, it doesn’t work. Maybe for dirt or slight tarnish, but not for serious tarnish.

[@DavidHarperAntiques]

Should work. Are you sure its brass and not a coating that looks like brass?

[@libertyesq]

@@DavidHarperAntiques I tested it with a magnet and there was no attraction, so my conclusion is it is not coated. Thanks for responding. I used Bar Keeper’s Friend soft cleanser and had much better success, but not as cheap.

[@donofon1014]

echo chamber audio ... I tried 3 times to hear what the 3rd ingredient is. Still wasn't sure.

[@DavidHarperAntiques]

Volume up?

[@donofon1014]

@@DavidHarperAntiques OOOOOoo was I supposed to turn the sound on ?? Is that how one cures "echo chamber audio"?

[@MajorCateMusic]

Omg, your vinegar is brown!

[@DavidHarperAntiques]

Yes it is!

[@A6Legit]

Even if it's white it'll be brown when youre done 😂

[@jesusoftheapes]

skip the flower and just wrap the thing in a wet paper towel with salt and vinegar no need to waste food.

[@DavidHarperAntiques]

That won’t work very well!

[@lorifisher5330]

I followed this recipe and double checked my measurements and it was more of a liquid than a paste. I think maybe you've got two heaping tablespoons here.

[@DavidHarperAntiques]

From memory, I think I made a mistake with the measurement, but dropped some text in to remedy that…if you watch again, it will all make sense.

[@lorifisher5330]

@@DavidHarperAntiques Thank you David.

[@YogalaxmiMuthukrisnan]

You waste a lot of water. Just use tamarine. No salt, vinegar and lime. Just tamarine ✅

[@DavidHarperAntiques]

Hardly! This is all about how out ancestors did it…and it works!

[@bobfarley4102]

The fact that you posted a video where you had to keep dashing the vinegar into a bowl from a pour restricted top and the salt dispenser gave you more trouble than you were able to handle makes me question if I should even listen to what you have to say.

[@DavidHarperAntiques]

I don’t cook!

[@nancym.5508]

Perhaps an excuse to push off a "chore"?! I just tried this non-toxic approach on dining room furniture handles and IT WORKS LIKE A CHARM! Thank you David!

[@DavidHarperAntiques]

My pleasure…thank you @@nancym.5508

[@donofon1014]

Joe Biden could do your demo ... better.

[@StillYHWHs]

Thank you❤

[@DavidHarperAntiques]

You're welcome 😊

[@Kyt_01234]

Can I use white vinegar?

[@A6Legit]

Of course, any acid will work. You can let it soak vinegar but the paste helps for large items. You can use a brass or steel brush, or lightly sand with 220-400+ grit to get bad tarnish off.