I am going to show you how do you polish brass fixtures without causing micro-scratches.
The second part is very important because *most* common brass cleaning products like Barkeeper’s Friend that DIYers recommended are very abrasive.
They contain fine sand to scrub away the patina, and in the process cause millions of scratches to the surface of the brass.
As a result the brass looks clean and bright, but it also becomes lackluster and devoid of any shine.
The Beauty of Polished Un-lacquered Brass
The beauty of brass is that it is a “living finish” meaning it has not been frozen in time by adding any type of coating to prevent natural oxidation from happening.
The warm golden color gets warmer as time goes on.
While we love the patina, there are days that you may want your brass faucet to look like it just came out of the box.
I get it. I want it too.
Keep in mind that if you have severely tarnished vintage brass that hasn’t been polished in years, this is NOT the right product for that. You may need a polishing wheel or a buffer for that job.
Let’s get to it.
You Need a Non-Abrasive Brass Polish
My favorite product to polish brass fixtures is actually an automotive product! Yes, I am a big fan of Butter Wet Wax for shining up your brass.
Butter Wet Wax
Formulated from a blend of natural Carnauba, polymers and resins, Butter Wet Wax delivers an unmatched surface shine and deep wet finish.
Here is why I love Butter Wet Wax –
1. Butter Wet Wax has emollient, almost lotion like texture. You will not feel any abrasive material in it.
2. It smells fresh, lovely and lemony.
3. It removes patina from brass like absolute magic.
I am not sure what sort of sorcery this product uses, but it removes the patina from unlacquered brass pretty quickly. You don’t have to scrub it for hours.
You Need New Microfiber Cloths
I am a big fan of microfiber cloths. I have them everywhere – at home to clean the house, at the shop to clean the furniture, in the car, in the garage…everywhere.
MR.SIGA Microfiber Cleaning Cloth
Ultra soft and highly absorbent microfiber cleaning cloths, great for cleaning windows, kitchenware, car or other delicate surfaces.
It’s very important that you use a soft, fluffy, newer microfiber cloths that don’t have any buildup or crud from previous use.
Why? A crusty microfiber cloth will cause deep scratches on your $1000 faucet in one second and removing that scratch will be major task.
I recommend keeping two microfiber cloths on hand for this task. One for the initial cleaning and 2nd one for the final finish.
Use Gloves If you Have Them
Gloves will prevent the grease from your skin imprinting on your newly polished brass.
Yes, the brass gets so so clean and shiny that it will show every fingerprint from handling it. Gloves are not necessary, but I do recommend them for best results.
How To Clean & Polish Brass
Step 1. Squirt a generous amount of polish on your microfiber cloth.
Step 2. Gently spread the product on the fixture – you kinda need to slather it a bit.
Step 3. Start rubbing the cloth (with the product in it) in a circular motion to remove the patina. You will start seeing black residue on the cloth. It’s working!
Step 4. Once most of the black residue stops coming off switch to a fresh microfiber cloth and remove any residue and left over patina.
You can repeat the process for higher shine.
Admire the warmth and the beauty of the shiny polished brass. It’s a temporary shine, but you can always bring it back when your heart desires.