Cleaning Copper items

grey_so_what

Would anyone know of a shop that cleans Copper items? - there used to be one in Malahide but asfaik it's long gone now.

Any assistance would be really appreciated - the items have been in storage for a long time.

Many thanks!
GSW:)


(any location would be considered!)

Lawrence1895

grey_so_what wrote: »

Would anyone know of a shop that cleans Copper items? - there used to be one in Malahide but asfaik it's long gone now.

Any assistance would be really appreciated - the items have been in storage for a long time.

Many thanks!
GSW:)


(any location would be considered!)

Just wondering, how big are the items?

Small stuff, like pots, kettles or bracelets look like new, when you rub some toothpaste on them, wait for 30-45 minutes, and then rinse with water, rubbing the access off with a sponge.

wonderfulname

You can also purchase copper cleaner and do the job yourself, any hardware store should stock it, I think I've even seen it in a pound store, it's not tough to do if you have the time.

grey_so_what

Granted, I've often used a bit of elbow grease on my own, but these are the contents of an old collector, they are hugh items, way to big, one of them is about seven foot alone........

They'd have to be done professionally, a few pots and pans I could handle!!!

wonderfulname

Ah, in that case I googled out of curiosity; http://www.brasspolishing.ie/contact-us/

grey_so_what

wonderfulname wrote: »

Ah, in that case I googled out of curiosity; http://www.brasspolishing.ie/contact-us/

Thanks for that Wonderfulname......I have tried to ring them a couple of times but, maybe, it's the Christmas break, I'm not getting any feedback - I'll call into them when I'm in Dublin the next time. I know they do a great job cleaning brass, not sure about the volume of Copper though.

Don't fancy the rub-a-dub cloth!!.....

Thanks for the thought though!...:)

Hannibal

Steel wool is fantastic for cleaning and shing up copper

anto3473

If you were going to have a go at doing some of it by hand there is a metal cleaner called Peek, I rembember it from leaving cert metalwork and its great stuff alltogether.

You can get in hardware shops in tubes and tubs.... its really more of an industrial strength kind of thing than regular "over the counter" metal polish...... put it on, leave it work its magic for 10 mins and rub it off with a cloth, it wont corrode either but as with anything like that test it out on an inconspicuous area first.

I would really avoid using steel wool as it would scratch the copper.

Stubborn oxide stains (green stuff) might require a bit of rubbing with peak and a cloth but not much elbow grease really, its the ammount of buffing not the pressure applied that makes the difference.

The downside of using peek is it stinks to high heavens (of piss)... wear old cloths and do it in the shed or outside!!!

If the polishing crowd are expensive argos sell an electric hand held car polisher for like 20 quid, it could be used with peek

anto3473

Sorry the car polisher is €39.99 in Argos now.... it was 6 years ago I bought one....