BrittanyMakes

After receiving the photos from the Glitter Guide photo shoot, the first thing I noticed was that I forgot to polish the brass sconces in our bathroom. Oops! Perhaps you think they look fine, but scroll down and see them polished and you’ll agree I waited a little bit too long to do this chore. Knowing we were days away from putting our house on the market, I quickly whipped out my cleaning supplies to give these babies a nice shine.

Yep, definitely overdue for some a little polish. I’m sure there are many methods to clean brass, but here’s my go-to, because it’s quick and effective and works every time!

Items you’ll need:

• Plastic gloves/dish washing gloves
• Lint free cloths or heavy duty paper towels
• Bowl
• Bar Keeper’s Friend
• Polishing Wax

Step 1 – remove the bulbs

Step 2 – cover your hands with gloves, sprinkle about a table spoon of Bar Keeper’s Friend into a bowl, add a little bit of water and give it a swirl until powder starts to dissolve. Don’t overmix, you want the mixture to be thick and gritty.

Step 3 – take a lint free towel or paper towel, dab into mixture and gently rub on brass fixture until tarnish begins to fade. Keep doing this with clean parts of the towel until the fixture is tarnish free

Step 4 – grab a second clean towel or paper towel to clean off the fixture; dampen it with water, then wipe away any of the Bar Keeper’s Friend residue left behind

Step 5 – grab a third clean towel or paper towel and your polishing wax, gently rub a tiny tiny bit of wax around fixture, seriously – a little goes a long way! I find it best to just dab the cloth onto the wax then gently rub across fixture giving it a thin protective coat which prolongs it’s bright shiny finish

Step 6 – put the bulbs back on the fixtures and you’re done!

I clean my brass fixtures about twice a year. The wax polishing step will prolong the vibrant non-tarnished look of your brass fixtures. Brass oxidizes easily if not coated, but it’s easily cleaned with the proper supplies!