Tried It Tuesday - Polishing Brass

A few months ago I picked up an old dresser, complete with brass plated hardware that I knew would be beautiful, once it got shined up a little.


I know I could have bought some brass polish and be done with it, but the DIY'er in me wanted to see if I could polish it up with something I already had on hand, rather than buying a big container of Brasso that I would have no further use for.

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So, Pinterest to the rescue.


After removing the hardware, I tried soaking it in lemon juice and then scrubbing with a soft cloth.

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No change. Or if there was, it wasn't noticable to me.

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Next up - a paste made from vinegar, salt, and flour.

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I mixed it all up together according to the directions, and slathered it all over the hardware.

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 30 minutes later, I washed them off and they didn't look any different.

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Now I was getting frustrated.


I decided to wing it and pulled out some S.O.S. pads I had kicking around under the sink.  I was nervous it might scratch the finish, but honestly it was already scratched and even worn completely off in some places ( which is fine with me ) so I figured I had nothing to lose.

It worked! A quick scrub with the S.O.S. pad and a rinse under some warm water and they were shiny once more! They still have a worn look to them, as they are only brass plated and the finish has worn off in spots and is still dark in all of the grooves - perfect for a shabby chic lover like me!

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Tried It Tuesday - Restore Wood Furniture

The other day I was sitting in the living room looking at our piano. It was badly in need of a good dusting, but I was feeling too lazy to get up and do something about it. Instead I was scrolling through my Pinterest boards with my feet up. I remembered that I had pinned a homemade furniture polish a while back, so I found it and my curiousity got the best of me; pretty soon I had the camera out and was taking photos of all the water stains and scratches on the old piano, and mixing up my oil and vinegar in a bowl with a rag.

I followed the directions, using 3 parts of oil ( I used olive oil but I believe any oil will work) and one part vinegar (I used regular white, but the instructions said it's possible to also use other vinegars like apple cider or rice wine vinegar). See that big ring at the front of the photo? Water damage from a plant pot . . .




I dipped a rag into the mixture and buffed the piano in circular motions, working from top to bottom. The husband came into the room when I was about halfway done and I excitedly made him come and watch. "Look at this! See this mark? Now watch . . . it's gone! Cool, huh?"

See that big spot? It looks like water damage - the finish is completely gone. You can also see a lot of small chips, scratches and scuffs all over the surface.

Same spot after the oil/vinegar mixture had been applied. The water damage has completely disappeared! I can still feel a different texture to the wood when I run my hand along it, but that is the only way I can find where the damage once was. It has completely blended in to the rest of the wood!





Within about 30 seconds I was back to relaxing on the couch and the husband was on his knees, buffing away at the lower portion of the piano. He said it was so my pregnant self didn't have to crawl around on the floor, but I think he was having just as much fun as I was with it!

The piano had a greasy shine to it for about 24 hours. We could see it being absorbed into the wood in dry areas, and for a few days afterward it had a blotchy appearance when the sun hit it - spots that were still shiny with oil and dry spots that had sucked it right up. I gave it a quick wipe down with regular furniture polish and it seemed to even things out and restore an overall shine.


Even after the oil has been absorbed, the piano still looks amazing! All of the scratches, scuffs, chips in the finish and even some splinters that had broken off from the bottom due to some rough moves over the years - all virtually disappeared! Obviously it hasn't filled in places where pieces of wood are missing or chipped, but the piano is a uniform color all over and looks almost like new! The wood looks glossy and healthy; it was in such rough shape that I was considering completely refinishing it or even *gasp* painting it, but now it looks so beautiful that I cannot imagine ever changing it!

The only place that I didn't have complete success was that big water ring on the top. It has faded dramatically, but is still quite visible.

 It's quite dramatic damage though, and I didn't expect that this particular spot would completely disappear. I think I will do another round or two of the oil/vinegar on the area over the coming weeks and see if I can get a little more improvement.