Homemade Brass Cleaner Paste

Do you like cleaning with things you already have in your pantry? Learn how to easily clean brass hardware using supplies you already have in your pantry.

Our Tarnished Hardware

I needed to find a DIY natural brass cleaner for this amazing midcentury modern dresser I picked up for FREE in my local buy-sell trade Facebook group (get the BST group lingo here)!

I tested out a few DIY & natural brass cleaner recipes to see which ones would do the best job polishing the brass hardware.

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Different Ways You Can Clean Brass

• Use storebought cleaners like BarKeeper’s Friend
• Create a paste out of vinegar and baking soda (optional to add some salt)
• Use soapy water
• Use ketchup
• Soak in Cola
• Use WD-40
• 1/2 cup lemon juice with 1/4 salt
• Toothpaste

How To Test Brass Hardware

To make sure that you are solid brass, take a magnet to your hardware. The magnet will not stick to solid brass. Therefore, if it doesn’t stick, you will be ready to start making your DIY natural brass cleaner!

Vinegar and Salt Brass Cleaner and Polisher

1. In a plastic container, mix 2 cups white vinegar with 10 tablespoons salt.

2. Using an old toothbrush, rub the mixture around the brass.

3. Allow the brass to soak for around 45 minutes. Don’t rush this. I am always impatient, however, you end up having to work harder. Just let the brass hardware soak!

I attempted this mixture a few ways. As you can see, the hardware is soaking, however, I also felt that I needed something else to help the solution get around the ends of the handles.

Brass Cleaning Paste

If soaking your hardware doesn’t work out you can try to mix flour with your brass cleaner solution to create a paste. It really seemed to help get some of the areas that didn’t want to be cleaned by only the solution.

After my handles were done soaking in the DIY natural brass cleaner, I used the toothbrush to clean them as well as a sponge.

Be careful when doing this as you may end up scratching your hardware. I cleaned the hardware in one motion so that any scratches or lines would look intentional.

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Other DIY Brass Cleaners

I was very happy with the outcome of my DIY natural brass cleaner. During my research, I did see some other ways you may want to try. As weird as it sounds, ketchup might be your answer!

As a child, I remember being in awe when I put a dirty penny in ketchup because it came out completely clean after soaking it. If you are up for it, slather some ketchup on your hardware and let me know how it goes. 

Another brass cleaner would be to try a baking soda & vinegar mixture. We use white vinegar for a variety of homemade cleaners like our vinyl siding cleaner and eco-friendly deck cleaner.

I would love to hear what your homemade and natural brass cleaning remedies are. What has worked the best for you?