Making Copper Shine
Copper, when uncoated and left in its natural state, will show signs of tarnish and aging very quickly. Left exposed to air, copper will develop a natural patina that ranges from rusts to browns to blues to greens. Many copper pieces that have aged naturally will have all of these colors intermixed, depending on the elements in the air (atmosphere in coastal areas where salt water is common will age copper differently than drier climates).
While some people don't mind (or even relish!) the color of copper patina, others like the shiny look of bright copper. The following methods can be used to re-polish copper and keep it looking shiny longer.
To clean copper that has been aged:
- Use a jewelry paste tarnish cleaner and a soft toothbrush. Tarnex brand tarnish remover also works very well. Be sure to rinse and dry thoroughly after cleaning (or you will find the piece aging again very quickly!)
- Use a jewelry polishing cloth to shine up pieces that have few crevices and are mostly exposed metal (doesn't work well for chain or swirls.)
- Tumble pieces with steel shot and water/Dawn for 60 minutes or so.
- An easy natural method of cleaning copper using items from your kitchen panty: a mixture of 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1 cup vinegar. Mix the two together, and immerse the copper in the liquid. Remove and rinse thoroughly with clear water, and dry. NOTE: if you don't rinse completely, you'll get the green/blue verdigris color which rubs off easily on skin, and quite honestly, stinks to high heaven.
To keep copper shiny, store it in a tightly closed plastic bag. You can also coat the copper using clear fingernail polish or clear wax. While all of these methods will slow down the aging process of the metal, they will not completely stop it. You can use any of the above methods for cleaning copper over and over without worrying about damaging the copper.
