Rejuvenating Metal

Without the protection of paint, oil, or lacquer, many metals become rusted or tarnished by oxygen and airborne salts and acids. The method for cleaning depends on the type of metal and on whether it’s protected with a finish.

Decorative Metals: Smudges and light tarnish can usually be removed from silver, brass, copper, and pewter with a commercial metal cleaner. The best polishes are those formulated for a particular metal; some silver polishes contain chemicals that retard tarnishing. Since metal polishes generally include a fine abrasive that actually rubs away some of the metal, don’t polish any more often than necessary. Nonabrasive cleaners, designed to bathe objects, are available for silver. These products clean but they don’t polish.

For heavy tarnish on brass exposed to the weather, use a special stripping solution. After polishing the item, coat it with a clear protective finish such as polymerized tang oil. Highly resistant to water, alcohol, acids, and heat, it can be buffed to a lustrous finish that does not darken over time as lacquers do. With age, paint and lacquer coatings on metal are prone to chipping, scratching, and peeling, and will have to be removed with strippers. These finishes cannot be rubbed with abrasives or cleaned with the harsh chemicals used to remove tarnish.

Steel, Aluminum, and Iron: Metal surfaces normally left uncoated—a stainless-steel sink or an aluminum door frame, For example—usually need only a thorough washing with mild liquid detergent and water. Rust on iron can be removed with steel wool, a wire brush, or a wire-brush drill attachment.

To clean stubborn dirt, paint, or rust from large areas of metal out doors—a chain-link or wrought-iron fence, For example—rent a sand blaster (- 32). Primer and paint can then be applied to some objects to prevent a recurrence. Aluminum siding can be cleaned in the same way as wood siding.

Metal Blinds: Louvered window shades, particularly horizontal ones, collect dirt easily. Dust them every month or so, and clean them occasionally.

SAFETY TIPS: Wear goggles when working with an electric drill with a wire-brush attachment. When sandblasting, put on a rain suit, work gloves, a dust mask, and a face shield.

TOOLS: Soft-bristle scrub brush; Electric drill with wire-brush attachment; Sandblaster; Shoe brush; Cotton cloths; Steel wool; Wire brush; Pail

BRINGING BACK THE GLEAM OF BRASS

1. Soaking off heavy tarnish.

• In a glass container, prepare a strip ping solution of 1 quart water, 1 cup vinegar, and ]j cup salt.

• Soak the brass object in the solution overnight. If the item cannot be immersed, wrap it in a clean cloth saturated with solution and enclose the wrapping in plastic (r), tying the entire package with string.

• The next day, take the object out of the solution or remove the wrappings. Apply brass cleaner with a damp cloth; then rinse the item with water and a clean cloth.

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2. Sealing brass with tung oil.

• Wearing nitrile gloves, remove old lacquer with a clean cloth dipped in lacquer thinner.

• Polish the object with a soft cloth, then warm it in the sun or place it in a 150°F oven for about 20 minutes.

• Immerse the warmed brass in a container of tung oil, suspending it from a string wrapped around a dowel. Support the dowel between two pieces of scrap wood.

• Keep the object in the container for about 2 minutes so the oil seeps into all the crevices.

• Remove it from the oil and, with the object still suspended, air-dry it for about 15 minutes, letting the oil set.

• Buff off excess oil with a soft, lint-free cloth, taking care to avoid smudging the surface.

• Let the object dry for about 4 hours in a dust-free area.

For objects too large to be immersed, rub oil over the surface with a clean, lint-free cotton cloth.

!!CAUTION!! Cloths soaked in solvents or refinishing products and then stored carelessly can ignite spontaneously; hang soaked cloths outdoors to dry, or store them in airtight metal or glass containers.

Using silver polish.

• Pour some polish onto a clean lint- free cloth and coat the object thoroughly, rubbing gently.

• Let the polish dry, then rub the object vigorously with a clean cloth until the polish has been removed and the shine is restored.

• Rinse and dry the metal.

TIP!! Cleaning Silver with Chemistry

Plain, undecorated silver can be cleaned by a chemical process called electrolysis. Don’t use the process on objects with satin or antique finishes or raised designs, or on flatware with hollow handles. Place a piece of aluminum foil in a container and set the silver object on the foil Pour in 1 quart of boiling water mixed with - teaspoon baking soda and - teaspoon salt. After a few minutes, remove it from the solution and rinse it.

POLISHING SILVER

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SCRUBBING GRIME OFF METAL BLINDS

Cleaning horizontal blinds.

• Close the blind and turn the slats to the horizontal position. Dust the slats—for mini-blinds, a special tool that fits between the slats works well (photograph).

• Close the slats, then take the blind down. For a large blind, set it outdoors on a blanket on a flat surface. A small blind can be washed in a bathtub.

• Rinse the blind with water, then scrub one side with a soft-bristle brush and a solution of general-purpose detergent and warm water.

Turn the blind over and clean the other side.

• With a helper holding the blind, or hanging it over a clothesline, rinse it thoroughly, then let it dry.

Wiping vertical blinds.

• Spread a plastic drop cloth on the floor under the blind; lay newspapers on the plastic to absorb water.

• Close the blind, turn the slats perpendicular to the window, and dust them.

• Dampen a soft cotton cloth in a solution of general-purpose detergent and warm water, and squeeze excess moisture from the cloth so the liquid won’t drip into the tracks.

• Wipe both sides of each slat from top to bottom.

• Rinse each slat with a damp cloth.

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SANDBLASTING METALWORK

Removing dirt and rust.

• Place a drop cloth under the metalwork and over nearby shrubs and windows.

• Attach the air-line hose to the air compressor.

• Fill the sandblaster canister with silica sand of the appropriate grit for the model. Turn on the switch on the unit.

• Grasp the sandblaster firmly—one hand supporting the underside and the other on the handle-and-trigger assembly. Hold the nozzle 1 to 2 feet away from the metal and pull the trigger; direct the jet of sand up, down, and sideways over one area of the surface until it’s clean.

• Refill the canister with fresh sand as necessary.

BRUSHING AWAY RUST AND DIRT

Wire-brushing the surface.

• Fit a wire-brush attachment on an electric drill and lightly abrade the metal surface until it’s clean.

• If the metal surface is painted, touch up the paint.

For stoves coated with polish, apply more stove polish with a soft cloth. When the surface is dry, buff it with a shoe brush.

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