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Post by cinnabar on Jan 12, 2018 20:26:22 GMT -5
I have a question for those in the know about cleaning copper. Specifically a copper boiler with a lid and wooden handles. (Sorry no picture yet, it is in my parents house 6 hours away.) It has lots of blue-green crud built up on the end of it from years of sharing the basement room with the salt from the water softener. Just a good cleaning to start or do I chisel it off? Probably came from the "farm" my dad grew up on so it is a family piece. He used it for boiling sap for maple syrup when I was a kid and don't think it has been used since the sixties. Just too cold to think about any outdoor processes or even garage work at this time, but I will gather and consider the advice received. Thanks
cinnabar
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Post by Chuckie on Jan 13, 2018 0:19:03 GMT -5
I have a question for those in the know about cleaning copper. Specifically a copper boiler with a lid and wooden handles. (Sorry no picture yet, it is in my parents house 6 hours away.) It has lots of blue-green crud built up on the end of it from years of sharing the basement room with the salt from the water softener. Just a good cleaning to start or do I chisel it off? Probably came from the "farm" my dad grew up on so it is a family piece. He used it for boiling sap for maple syrup when I was a kid and don't think it has been used since the sixties. Just too cold to think about any outdoor processes or even garage work at this time, but I will gather and consider the advice received. Thanks cinnabar Cinn: There is a gal that just turned 90 that lives down the road from us, and I BELIEVE she just used lemon wedges dipped in salt to scrub her stuff. Here's a link to similar ideas--again, NOT tried, just POSTED!! Good luck!! www.everbritecoatings.com/copper_cleaner.htmCHEERS! Chuckie
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Post by mach12 on Jan 13, 2018 1:35:53 GMT -5
When I was in the Navy we were constantly fighting heavy corrosion of brass and copper and when we had heavy green buildup we'd slice a lemon in half and pour some table salt on it and start rubbing away at the corrosion and it cleaned up every time. I don't remember it ever being so heavy that it might need to be chipped away but the combination of the acid from the lemon and the salt seemed to really soften the corrosion so I'd give that a try. Once we got all of the green off we'd polish it to a nice shine using a product called Nevr-Dull. It's basically cotton wadding that has polishing chemicals in it and works great if you want it to really shine.
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Post by nana on Jan 13, 2018 11:45:55 GMT -5
My mom and dad had a boiler that must have been a twin to yours that they kept next to the woodstove to keep kindling and the next two loads of stovewood in. They also used the lemon and salt trick. So that certainly sounds like the way to go. Try using coarse kosher salt if you think you really need some extra oomph!
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Post by cinnabar on Jan 13, 2018 14:17:34 GMT -5
thanks all. I have the never dul, but will have to use the lemon and salt first. I have some canning salt that is fairly coarse and can give it a go when I go back next month.
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Post by pooka on Jan 13, 2018 22:52:55 GMT -5
They recommend cleaning copper pans with vinegar & salt to keep them shinny. Scrubbing your big pots with a bath of that may do a world of good to dissolve the build up of green scale.
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Post by vaporvac on Jan 14, 2018 14:48:25 GMT -5
What a wonderful pice of history! cinnabar, to get off the corrosion the above will work with (alot of)effort. I sometimes us those techniques upkeep. For less effort on a really corroded piece, try making a soft paste from flour and vinegar. Press it on the entire thing encasing it like a mummy and just leave it. Soon it will turn green and absorb all the tarnish. You can repeat and keep using the same paste or add to it. These techniques work only to get off tarnish; they don't polish or protect. For that, trusty Maas or any copper cleaner will work. Please, try and take some pictures along the ways, or at least of the finished product! P.S. This also works for brass as is especially useful for those little brass furniture tacks that are so hard to clean without damaging the fabric.
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Post by evangeline on Jan 16, 2018 22:26:43 GMT -5
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