Brass bed refinishing and cleaning

(2002)

I have an older brass bed, head board and foot board, with large brass balls on each post, the tarnish has turned green and black, I have tried Brasso [link is to product info at Amazon] and this become labor intensive and doing what I want, I want a shiny clean bed but only get small areas to clean up and the piping is so large that by the time I can get back to doing more cleaning the bed the area I cleaned needs work. Is there any thing that I can use to clean the whole bed frame at one time and lacquer it later?

Wayne B [name deleted for privacy]
- Melbourne, Florida

(2002)

For cleaning a brass bed: Ketchup, or Worcestershire Sauce. Tomato juice works too, and vinegar. Also, there is a company called Horton that sells several products for cleaning brass beds.

I hope this helps,

Patsy F [name deleted for privacy]
- Columbus, MS, USA

Ed. note: that Horton info may be dated. As far as we can see, Horton Brasses currently only resells Goddard's polishes.

(2004)

I own an older Brass bed...It can easily be cleaned with Lemon Juice and salt...mix a cup of each together with the finest Brillo and some elbow grease...it cleans well...Just make sure you wipe it totally dry after to keep from retarnishing. And polish every now and then to keep shining!!

Jenny
I own one! - New Orleans, LA, US

+++++++

This bed was my Great-Great-Grandmothers from Norway and it has been passed down for several generations. My grand mother had it aa child then my mother had it as child then I had it as a child and now I would like my daughter to have it.The bed has been painted by a couple people and now the paint is chiping and dammaged so I would like to refinish it! How do I take the paint off with out damaging the brass, then how do I polish it? I am 23 and this is a subject I know nothing about, I would love to start refinishing my grand parents old things but I want the originality to still be there! I do not want to damage this very important piece of my family history, Please help me with this problem! I want this family heirloom to be as beautiful as it once was, and continue to pass it down. My daughter calls it the Princess bed! I do believe that it is a magical as she believes, I have had many castles and imaginary play as a child with the bed and I would love to fix it so that she can do the same and share it with her children in the future. If any one can give me some pointers on a safe and effective way keep the fairytale alive please let me know.

Brittany

Brittany Gillespie
Hobbyist - Tulsa, Oklahoma

+++++++

I need to refinish/burnish our antique brass bed which I did many years ago and forgot which compounds to use and the best coating to preserve it.

James Spieth
hobbyist - Canon City, Co. USA

February 15, 2008

I have a very heavy OLD Brass Bed that my Mom was born in, She is now 84 and would like to die in it (Smile), but it has been stored under the house for 50 years, I will try all of your neat cleaning ideas (but) I age 60 need something to scrub with. Does anyone have an idea of a scrubber that would attach to a drill or something, the bed is very big.

Kathy Edgecombe
home owner - Seattle Washington

February 21, 2008

Hi, Kathy.

Of the many brass polishes available, it's always a tradeoff between fast acting vs. that beautiful warm glow of brass.

For agonizingly slow, but beautiful as a jewel, nothing beats Brasso [link is to product info at Amazon].

But after trying (and having my wife) try a large range of these polishes, our preference is Revere copper cleaner [link is to product info at Amazon]. It is quite fast (strong enough for copper-bottom pots), but it still leaves a pretty nice brass color.

You've seen recommendations of ketchup, or lemon juice & salt, or vinegar & salt, too. These are mild to people but they are not mild to brass; that's why they work so fast. Use them only on heavily tarnished but robust items like heavy solid brass and expect a harsh, grainy, salmon coloration (which hopefully will soon fade back to the warmer color of brass with time or subsequent polishing).

After you have removed the heavy tarnish with the vinegar & salt, or whatever, you can get a small buffing wheel for your electric drill and use a milder polish like Brasso on it.

Ted Mooney, P.E.
finishing.com
Brick, New Jersey

August 3, 2008

i have a antique brass bed that has been lacquered. when i was moving it got rained on and now has spots all over it can anyone tell me how to fix we love this bed and want to use it . thank you for any help.

scott russell
- leland, north carolina

August 3, 2008

Hi, Scott. The first step is to remove the lacquer with Acetone [link is to product info at Rockler] or lacquer thinner [link is to product info at Amazon] and see what the spotting situation is then. Hopefully that will be the end of the spotting and you can reapply lacquer.

Regards,

Ted Mooney
finishing.com
Brick, New Jersey

August 25, 2008

I have had my treasured antique brass bed relacquered after 25 years of use. After a few months, the finish kind of took on a bluish tone, bubbled, and peeled. The restorers I took it to redid it. However, now if you scratch it with your fingernail, the finish peels right off. What are they doing wrong? Can I do this job myself, and if so, how do I go about it?

Deborah R. Wright
- Gainesville, Florida

August 29, 2009

Polishing a brass bed can be a breeze, my wife was struggling with Brasso and a cloth, I went to the auto shop, got a conical foam attachment (brand is Mother's but there are several) for my electric drill, and with this and a bit of Brasso, an entire bed can be polished from black to brilliant in less that two hours...then the question is whether to seal it with laquer?

Jack Bacon
- Warwick, RI