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

[@docgypsy007]

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

[@DavidHarperAntiquesTV]

Wonderful to hear

[@asimplealtar]

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

[@DavidHarperAntiquesTV]

Great to hear! thank you

[@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.

[@DavidHarperAntiquesTV]

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 👍🇺🇲

[@DavidHarperAntiquesTV]

My pleasure and thanks for letting me know

[@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?

[@DavidHarperAntiquesTV]

Good idea. I will

[@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! 🌹⚓

[@DavidHarperAntiquesTV]

Good luck!

[@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!

[@DavidHarperAntiquesTV]

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

[@cathrynbyrnes8737]

Wow! Thanks David.

[@thecottagepotager]

Hi David. I bought an old brass coal bucket at a bootsale (£3). I was trying to polish it with Brasso but getting nowhere. Your method was amazing. Thank you so much. It got rid of the tarnish apart from a thin layer of pinkish tarnish that came off very easily with Brasso. 🙂

[@DavidHarperAntiquesTV]

Wonderful to hear, thank you for letting me know

[@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!😊

[@DavidHarperAntiquesTV]

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.

[@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.

[@DavidHarperAntiquesTV]

Thank you. Let us all know if it works!

[@sreville]

Absolute pleasure to watch, great presentation 😁

[@DavidHarperAntiquesTV]

Thank you so much, really appreciate it

[@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.🙄

[@DavidHarperAntiquesTV]

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!

[@phoenixperry8023]

Thank you!! This worked perfectly.

[@DavidHarperAntiquesTV]

Love to hear that. Thanks for letting me know.

[@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!

[@DavidHarperAntiquesTV]

Thank you so much for the comment, really appreciate it

[@DavidHarperAntiquesTV]

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

[@nahlazaki5170]

Thanks, will try soon

[@DavidHarperAntiquesTV]

You’ll enjoy it I’m sure !

[@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

[@curlyfurpuppyltd8817]

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

[@happiness4812]

Give it a fantastic wallop😂😂😂

[@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.

[@docgypsy007]

Thank you for sharing

[@DavidHarperAntiquesTV]

My pleasure

[@loretomurraylm]

Fantastic thank you 🙏

[@DavidHarperAntiquesTV]

You're very welcome

[@user-zb8cp5kd8o]

Thank you

[@DavidHarperAntiquesTV]

My pleasure

[@AlphonseWeebay]

Very wholesome video

[@DavidHarperAntiquesTV]

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...

[@DavidHarperAntiquesTV]

Good info thank you

[@maisie2802]

It WORKS brilliantly!!

[@DavidHarperAntiquesTV]

Fabulous to hear, thanks for letting me know

[@rochellekerr7857]

Worked a treat thankyou!!

[@DavidHarperAntiquesTV]

You're welcome!

[@harrymohamad]

Tq u so much Sir. Hug from Malaysia

[@DavidHarperAntiquesTV]

So nice of you, thank you

[@sallyjanepreston]

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

[@DavidHarperAntiquesTV]

Yes I’m certain they’d work the same

[@sallyjanepreston]

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

[@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...

[@DavidHarperAntiquesTV]

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.

[@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.

[@DavidHarperAntiquesTV]

I’ll be making a vid for pewter soon!

[@kirtandrews1859]

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

[@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.

[@user-xi3hm3ow9m]

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

[@DavidHarperAntiquesTV]

Just normal table salt

[@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 😊

[@DavidHarperAntiquesTV]

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

[@aaronhisminiatures6129]

@@DavidHarperAntiquesTV awesome, thank you :)

[@shelleypenn7577]

👏👏👏

[@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!

[@speedypaul2314]

Any magic recipe for wood without French polishing.

[@DavidHarperAntiquesTV]

Yes, on the way!

[@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! 🤣🤣

[@DavidHarperAntiquesTV]

I remember something similar!!

[@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

[@DavidHarperAntiquesTV]

Doesn’t work on copper!!

[@Blackfire970]

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

[@DavidHarperAntiquesTV]

best to stick to traditional vinegar

[@IndiaDouroux]

What kind of vinegar

[@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.

[@rasharasho5697]

Can i use white vinegar?

[@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.

[@DavidHarperAntiquesTV]

Try this method, it hopefully will work?

[@NormanFox-wm8im]

Will this work on copper

[@DavidHarperAntiquesTV]

No, it doesn’t work on copper

[@MajorCateMusic]

Omg, your vinegar is brown!

[@DavidHarperAntiquesTV]

Yes it is!

[@A6Legit]

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

[@donofon1014]

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

[@DavidHarperAntiquesTV]

Volume up?

[@donofon1014]

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

[@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.

[@DavidHarperAntiquesTV]

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!

[@DavidHarperAntiquesTV]

My pleasure…thank you @@nancym.5508

[@donofon1014]

Joe Biden could do your demo ... better.

[@YogalaxmiMuthukrisnan]

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

[@DavidHarperAntiquesTV]

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

[@MrKYT-gb8gs]

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.