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Tuesday, May 20, 2014

The Best Cleaner for Brass (and many other things)



A couple of years ago I stopped by a yard sale and found a large brass planter.  It was pretty tarnished but for $2, I couldn't pass it up.  I brought it home and planted it with succulents and stuck it on the table on the deck.  

Fast forward to a few weeks ago when I began sprucing up the deck for spring and found the planter...dead succulents, lots of dirt, and plenty of tarnish.

I decided it was too pretty to just waste away on the deck so I brought it inside and began to restore it to its former beauty.


I found Bar Keepers Friend several years ago and have used it religiously ever since.  I first discovered it while looking for something to clean the marks off of my white porcelain sink.  You know the ones that e-v-e-r-y pot and pan make on your white sink?!


So I pulled out my trusty cleaner and began scouring my brass planter.  


It didn't take a lot of elbow grease and the old toothbrush came in handy for the small areas.

So, ready for the after?!  (ok, I know you already saw it in the header but humor me)




Isn't it beautiful?  I had a pot of shamrocks in there until recently...brown thumb, had to throw them away.  I just stuck the feathers in to go with the bird nest in the iron piece in front of the planter.


The planter is sitting on top of my grandfather's old pie safe.  It's one of my favorite pieces in my home.  I still remember it sitting in their basement filled with old gardening tools.


The little lithograph print hanging on the wall in this vignette was also purchased at a yard sale about 20 years ago, possibly THE best yard sale I've ever been to!  This print was $1.  I also purchased a huge wooden bowl with a teal stripe around the outside and sailboats painted on the stripe and a gorgeous pair of brass and crystal sconces. Again, for $1 each.  Why oh why did I sell those?!  Still kicking myself.  

Back to the best brass cleaner ever.  Bar Keepers Friend is an amazing product.  Like I said, I use it on my porcelain sink, pots, pans, copper, and fiberglass shower/tub.  I does say NOT to use on silver but I confess, I purchased an old silver punch bowl (see that post here) that just would not clean up.  I tried all the typical silver cleaning tricks, Wrights Silver Polish, and even bought a bottle of Tarnex.  Nothing.  Nada.  The tarnish would not budge.  So I went against the directions and used Bar Keepers Friend on the silver punch bowl.  It turned out beautiful!  Warning, it may scratch!  I had no other options and it worked for me.

Silver Punch Bowl Before

Silver Punch Bowl After
Thanks for stopping by and God bless!
Angie


This post was not sponsored by Bar Keepers Friend.  It is just my honest opinion of a product that really delivers.  I was not compensated in any way for this post.  


I'm linking here:
THE STYLE SISTERS






STONEGABLE

UNDER THE TABLE AND DREAMING

7 comments:

  1. I love that stuff...love that pretty vignette too!

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  2. Holy smokes, I can't believe how it cleaned up your silver punch bowl!! Glad you took the chance and gave it a try!

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  3. I've never tried this. I'm looking for a good silver cleaner, and will keep this in mind for my brass!
    Blessings,
    Cindy

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  4. I think I have some for cleaning bathroom fixtures...I'll definitely try it on some metal this weekend! New follower. :)

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  5. First, let me tell you that I found you on Home and Garden Thursday linky party.
    Thank you for sharing this trick! I have some in my cabinet now, and have been tempted to use it on silver, but always stopped before actually trying it...That punch bowl looks amazing! The brass planter is beautiful, too. What a find for $2.
    judypimperl.blogspot.com

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  6. I have it and use it on vintage dishes to give them a fresh new look, but had no idea it would do all this. Thanks for sharing with SYC.
    hugs,
    Jann

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  7. Love that stuff! Great tip! I do appreciate you sharing with Home and Garden Thursday,
    Kathy

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