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I just re finished a 1960’s cherry chest of drawers. The brass pulls are covered with curd. I was able to use the buffing wheel on my grinder to clean up one pull and it looks good except for the cracks. Also the buffer wheel is now completely black. Is there some other way to clean up the pulls? Is there something to be done to keep them clean afterwards.
I suspect that tobacco added to the curd ( cigarette stains on the chest) Thanks
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Replies
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I used to be able to get a brass cleaner that was miraculous but they stopped making it. The man that made it said it was sulfuric acid. I would suggest a maybe 1:20 dilution rubbed on with steel wool. It is a cleaner. You will then have to polish with a good brass polish. After that you can apply spray lacquer to preserve the finish. Remove the pulls from the piece of furniture, of course.
*I use a tool made for people who reload ammunition; it is a tumbler, filled with ground corncobs, and or walnut shells. It does a great job of cleaning brass. I follow that with steel wool, dipped in mineral oil, with pumice on it, this leaves a very nice satin sheen. I dislike lacquered hardware, but it is the only really effective way to keep the brass from tarnishing. I do wax the hardware, but I not sure how much protection this offers. I have not had any complaints from my customers about the brass tarnishing, so I guess the wax works.
*I refinished an old chest which had been "antiqued" back in the 70s. After stripping off 4 layers of paint, I used the paint stripper on the brass pulls and they cleaned up really nice. I didn't do anything to protect them. It's been over 8 years and the pulls are starting to dull, but still look decent.
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