DIY
How to Clean Copper Jewelry
May
Have you heard about the lemon and salt method for cleaning copper? I had no idea how to clean copper so I searched for recipes online. I found soooooo many DIYs about how to clean copper & brass. I had to try them all.
We carry a ton of brass and copper jewelry in our online shop. And so guess what? We have to clean it all the time!
I can tell you which Copper Cleaning Techniques are awesome and which ones don’t work out to well. And I can tell you the best parts of each method.
Method:
Supplies:
Fresh Lemon
Iodized Salt
Gloves
Clean Cloth
13 x 9 or So Work Area
Instructions:
- Either cut your lemon in half, salt it, and use it to scrub the copper gently. Resalt your lemon as necessary and continue to scrub until the copper is bright and clean. This could take a few minutes. Then rinse the lemon and salt from the copper and gently dry with a clean cloth.
- Or – juice your lemon and pour in a bowl. Add salt and then add your copper pieces allow them to be completely submerged. Allow to sit for at least 1 minute. Scrub the surface of the copper with your fingers and remove from the lemon juice. Rinse in cool water and dry the copper with a clean cloth.
What’s Good about
the Lemon + Salt Recipe for Cleaning Copper
Is the lemon and salt copper cleaning method my favorite? Honestly no.
But what do I like about it? There’s a few things.
First of all, I love that these ingredients you likely already have around the house. It’s the perfect thing when cleaning copper is an afterthought. I also love how bright and gorgeous the copper turns out. Seriously. It just looked beautiful. Third, this is a really fast method. You can clean your copper in a jiffy.
More about Our Favorite Cleaning Method
So what is my favorite Copper Cleaning Recipe?
Definitely the vinegar and flour method. It’s cheaper to make. The Lemon and Salt method can use a lot of lemons really fast. The flour and vinegar method is just as easy and is so much cheaper. It’s quick and reliable.
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Looking for something similar?
I’ve always used the soda and hot water method, used to clean silver, for my copper bracelet, but it never really gives me that shine that I want. Hoping that this should salvage the situation.
Very usefull..I will try it..thanks..
I have a copper bracelet type wrist watch that is tarnished horribly that I want to clean but it isn’t water resistant or proof, can you help me?
Hi Melody,
You could spot clean it by only applying any cleaning ingredients to a small cloth or q-tip. Then carefully use the cloth to clean the areas that are tarnished. Or you could remove the wristband from the watch face to clean just the band. A 3rd option, would be to take it to a watch maker for repair.
The very best copper cleaning method is to pour some ketchup on the copper and rub with your fingers a few minutes then rinse with water…