Bronze is a copper alloy (combination of copper and tin) and when exposed to air and moisture, it will develop a greenish layer of build-up on its surface. This greenish coating is known as patina. While this darkened finish does add character to the bronze, some consider it unsightly, and would prefer their bronze to look clean and shiny.
Table of Contents:
There are two basic homemade polishes you can use to clean and polish your bronze. Using either method will help you safely remove the patina on your bronze pieces and restore their luster and shine. Both methods are equally as effective, so the choice is yours.
Baking Soda & Lemon Juice
What You Will Need:
- Warm water
- Clean towel
- Small dish
- Soft cotton polishing cloths (smaller size)
- Lemon Juice (from concentrate is okay)
- Baking soda
- Rubber gloves (optional)
Clean that Bronze:
- Rinse your bronze items in warm water, and dry thoroughly. This will safely remove any dust and/or particles that may hamper your polishing efforts.
- Place about 2 tablespoons of baking soda in a small dish.
- Drizzle a small amount of lemon juice onto the baking soda and mix until a soft paste forms (start out with just a little lemon juice and add more as needed). It is normal for the mixture to bubble at first, and will settle down after a moment or two.
- Apply the paste to your bronze item using your hands (with the rubber gloves) or with a small polishing cloth.
- With a polishing cloth, rub the paste onto the item using small circular motions. This is the key removal step and you may have to rub repeatedly until the desired effect is reached.
- Allow the paste to stay on the item for 20 to 30 minutes.
- Rinse the item thoroughly with warm water to remove the paste and buff dry with a clean towel.
- If the greenish patina still remains, repeat steps 2 through 7.
Vinegar, Flour & Salt
What You Will Need:
- Warm water
- Clean towel
- Small dish
- Soft cotton polishing cloths (smaller size)
- Distilled white vinegar
- Flour
- Salt
- Rubber gloves (optional)
Clean that Bronze:
- Rinse your bronze items in warm water and dry thoroughly. This will safely remove any dust and/or particles that may hamper your polishing efforts.
- In a small dish, combine equal parts flour and salt.
- Add white vinegar to the flour/salt mixture, using a few drops at a time until a soft paste forms (should be the consistency of toothpaste).
- Apply the paste to your bronze item using your hands (with the rubber gloves) or with a small polishing cloth.
- With a polishing cloth, rub the paste onto the item using small circular motions. This is the key removal step and you may have to rub repeatedly until the desired effect is reached.
- Allow the paste to stay on the item for 20 to 30 minutes.
- Rinse the item thoroughly with warm water to remove the paste and buff dry with a clean towel.
- If the greenish patina still remains, repeat steps 2 through 7.
Additional Tips and Advice
- In lieu of polishing cloths, try using an old white cotton tee shirt, cut into squares.
- This process, while relatively simple, takes time and patience as the greenish patina may be quite stubborn and will require a bit of elbow grease to remove.
- If the bronze item is small or has a lot of crevices and tight spots, try using a soft bristled toothbrush to rub the paste into hard to reach areas.
- Although occasional polishing will keep your bronze looking shiny, using these methods too often may have the opposite effect, reducing the luster of the bronze finish.
- Maintain your bronze items by regular dusting and rinsing; regular care will keep your bronze looking it’s best and lessen the need for more frequent polishing.
- When you rinse your bronze items, be sure to dry thoroughly. While bronze is resistant to moisture, allowing it to remain wet and air-dry will hasten the formation of patina.
- There are some commercial polishes available for bronze (usually in specialized stores or online). Some of these products can be harsh and are generally no more effective than the above polishing pastes.
- The above cleaning techniques may also work well with brass items, since brass is also a copper alloy (copper and zinc).
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DO NOT use sugar on Bronze I used it instead of baking soda and It ruined my $800.00 bronze sculpture.
How to protect bronze finish?
Is there any type of oil that will protect the finish? My bronze is on a patio and I live on the Gulf.
Use wax to protect your bronze
Hi Teri,
We’ve just posted the answer to your question here:
Preserving Bronze with Wax. Please let us know if this is helpful to you or not.
Thanks!
HowToCleanStuff
Bronze now PINK
I just used this past on our bronze fireplace cover. It now looks PINK! What do I do? I just want that coppery look and it’s been stripped of any goldish tint. Just gleaming pink!
Pink ring
I have a ring that I have been wanting to restore to its original color. I tried with the vinegar, flour and salt but every time it gets pink and pinker.
Dishwasher?
Can bronze flatware be cleaned in the dishwasher? If no, why not? Maybe with lemon flavored kool-aid or that product that is sold to clean the inside of a dishwasher?
I used the lemon juice and baking soda and it worked. **If it turns pink what do I do? Can you put it in water like when you take a shower?
Bronze in dishwasher
I need to clean my bronze flatware. Can I clean it in the dishwasher? It has been sitting in a drawer in the kitchen for years, not being used.
Brasso for Bronze? oooops
I used brass polish on bronze metal. It has turned greenish white. Now what to do?
Green is beautiful
Well, salt is a chloride and its usage on bronze leads to “Bronze Disease” – check http://www.collector-antiquities.com/89/ …. That green patina that you´ve washed away was actually protecting the bronze and it´s now started breaking down, that pink you see is probably the zinc in the alloy coming to the forefront. So don´t wash that green stuff away, and don´t use salt on your bronze!
Re: turning pink
A lot of times the bronze will turn pink after putting this paste on it because it is actually a reaction to maybe some foreign metal / impurity in your bronze object such as steel which makes a copper plating reaction when the cleaning solution (essentially an acid) is place on it. To get it off, just *lightly* with a fine grain paper (220 or 320) sand it to expose a new layer of bronze. To remove any scratching that may be caused by the sand paper, follow up with steel wool or a brass brush.
Bronze tarnishes relatively quickly. To preserve the shiny color it sounds odd but you can always grab a clear coat spray (found in the spray paint section of most art stores) and lightly*(not drench) clear coat the final work.
Bronze decorative items and sculpture have a patina applied by the artist with certain heated chemicals. This gives the redish-brown, green, or black patina and is not replaceable. Cleaning most bronze will ruin the value of the piece. They were never meant to be displayed showing the bare shiny metal.