Part 128

«Cleaning Silver-Plated Ware.»—Into a wide-mouthed bottle provided with a good cork put the following mixture:

Cream of tartar 2 parts Levigated chalk 2 parts Alum 1 part

Powder the alum and rub up with the other ingredients, and cork tightly. When required for use wet sufficient of the powder and with soft linen rags rub the article, being careful not to use much pressure, as otherwise the thin layer of plating may be cut through. Rinse in hot suds, and afterwards in clear water, and dry in sawdust. When badly blackened with silver sulphide, if small, the article may be dipped for an instant in hydrochloric acid and immediately rinsed in running water. Larger articles may be treated as coins are—immersed for 2 or 3 minutes in a 10 per cent aqueous solution of sulphuric acid, or the surface may be rapidly wiped {201} with a swab carrying nitric acid and instantly rinsed in running water.

«Cleaning Gilt Bronze Ware.»—If greasy, wash carefully in suds, or, better, dip into a hot solution of caustic potash, and then wash in suds with a soft rag, and rinse in running water. If not then clean and bright, dip into the following mixture:

Nitric acid 10 parts Aluminum sulphate 1 part Water 40 parts

Mix. Rinse in running water.

«Britannia Metal Cleaner.»—Rub first with jewelers’ rouge made into a paste with oil; wash in suds, rinse, dry, and finish with chamois or wash leather.

«To Remove Ink Stains on Silver.»—Silver articles in domestic use, and especially silver or plated inkstands, frequently become badly stained with ink. These stains cannot be removed by ordinary processes, but readily yield to a paste of chloride of lime and water. Javelle water may be also used.

«Removing Egg Stains.»—A pinch of table salt taken between the thumb and finger and rubbed on the spot with the end of the finger will usually remove the darkest egg stain from silver.

«To Clean Silver Ornaments.»—Make a strong solution of soft soap and water, and in this boil the articles for a few minutes—five will usually be enough. Take out, pour the soap solution into a basin, and as soon as the liquid has cooled down sufficiently to be borne by the hand, with a soft brush scrub the articles with it. Rinse in boiling water and place on a porous substance (a bit of tiling, a brick, or unglazed earthenware) to dry. Finally give a light rubbing with a chamois. Articles thus treated look as bright as new.

«Solvent for Iron Rust.»—Articles attacked by rust may be conveniently cleaned by dipping them into a well-saturated solution of stannic chloride. The length of time of the action must be regulated according to the thickness of the rust. As a rule 12 to 24 hours will suffice, but it is essential to prevent an excess of acid in the bath, as this is liable to attack the iron itself. After the objects have been removed from the bath they must be rinsed with water, and subsequently with ammonia, and then quickly dried. Greasing with vaseline seems to prevent new formation of rust. Objects treated in this manner are said to resemble dead silver.

Professor Weber proposed a diluted alkali, and it has been found that after employing this remedy the dirt layer is loosened and the green platina reappears. Potash has been found to be an efficacious remedy, even in the case of statues that had apparently turned completely black.

«To Clean Polished Parts of Machines.»—Put in a flask 1,000 parts of petroleum; add 20 parts of paraffine, shaved fine; cork the bottle and stand aside for a couple of days, giving it an occasional shake. The mixture is now ready for use. To use, shake the bottle, pour a little of the liquid upon a woolen rag and rub evenly over the part to be cleaned; or apply with a brush. Set the article aside and, next day, rub it well with a dry, woolen rag. Every particle of rust, resinified grease, etc., will disappear provided the article has not been neglected too long. In this case a further application of the oil will be necessary. If too great pressure has not been made, or the rubbing continued too long, the residual oil finally leaves the surface protected by a delicate layer of paraffine that will prevent rusting for a long time.

«To Clean Articles of Nickel.»—Lay them for a few seconds in alcohol containing 2 per cent of sulphuric acid; remove, wash in running water, rinse in alcohol, and rub dry with a linen cloth. This process gives a brilliant polish and is especially useful with plated articles on the plating of which the usual polishing materials act very destructively. The yellowest and brownest nickeled articles are restored to pristine brilliancy by leaving them in the alcohol and acid for 15 seconds. Five seconds suffice ordinarily.

«How to Renovate Bronzes.»—For gilt work, first remove all grease, dirt, wax, etc., with a solution in water of potassium or sodium hydrate, then dry, and with a soft rag apply the following:

Sodium carbonate 7 parts Spanish whiting 15 parts Alcohol, 85 per cent 50 parts Water 125 parts

Go over every part carefully, using a brush to get into the minute crevices. When this dries on, brush off with a fine linen cloth or a supple chamois skin.

Or the following plan may be used: Remove grease, etc., as directed above, dry and go over the spots where the gilt surface is discolored with a brush dipped in a solution of two parts of alum in 250 parts of water and 65 parts of nitric acid. As soon as the gilding reappears or the {202} surface becomes bright, wash off, and dry in the direct sunlight.

Still another cleaner is made of nitric acid, 30 parts; aluminum sulphate, 4 parts; distilled or rain water, 125 parts. Clean of grease, etc., as above, and apply the solution with a camel’s-hair pencil. Rinse off and dry in sawdust. Finally, some articles are best cleaned by immersing in hot soap suds and rubbing with a soft brush. Rinse in clear, hot water, using a soft brush to get the residual suds out of crevices. Let dry, then finish by rubbing the gilt spots or places with a soft, linen rag, or a bit of chamois.

There are some bronzes gilt with imitation gold and varnished. Where the work is well done and the gilding has not been on too long, they will deceive even the practiced eye. The deception, however, may easily be detected by touching a spot on the gilt surface with a glass rod dipped in a solution of corrosive sublimate. If the gilding is true no discoloration will occur, but if false a brown spot will be produced.

«To Clean a Gas Stove.»—An easy method of removing grease spots consists in immersing the separable parts for several hours in a warm lye, heated to about 70° C. (158° F.), said lye to be made of 9 parts of caustic soda and 180 parts of water. These pieces, together with the fixed parts of the stove, may be well brushed with this lye and afterwards rinsed in clean, warm water. The grease will be dissolved, and the stove restored almost to its original state.

«Cleaning Copper Sinks.»—Make rotten stone into a stiff paste with soft soap and water. Rub on with a woolen rag, and polish with dry whiting and rotten stone. Finish with a leather and dry whiting. Many of the substances and mixtures used to clean brass will effectively clean copper. Oxalic acid is said to be the best medium for cleaning copper, but after using it the surface of the copper must be well washed, dried, and then rubbed with sweet oil and tripoli, or some other polishing agent. Otherwise the metal will soon tarnish again.

«Treatment of Cast-Iron Grave Crosses.»—The rust must first be thoroughly removed with a steel-wire brush. When this is done apply one or two coats of red lead or graphite paint. After this priming has become hard, paint with double-burnt lampblack and equal parts of oil of turpentine and varnish. This coating is followed by one of lampblack ground with coach varnish. Now paint the single portions with “mixtion” (gilding oil) and gild as usual. Such crosses look better when they are not altogether black. Ornaments may be very well treated in colors with oil paint and then varnished. The crosses treated in this manner are preserved for many years, but it is essential to use good exterior or coach varnish for varnishing, and not the so-called black varnish, which is mostly composed of asphalt or tar.

«Cleaning Inferior Gold Articles.»—The brown film which forms on low-quality gold articles is removed by coating with fuming hydrochloric acid, whereupon they are brushed off with Vienna lime and petroleum. Finally, clean the objects with benzine, rinse again in pure benzine, and dry in sawdust.

«To Clean Bronze.»—Clean the bronze with soft soap; next wash it in plenty of water; wipe, let dry, and apply light encaustic mixture composed of spirit of turpentine in which a small quantity of yellow wax has been dissolved. The encaustic is spread by means of a linen or woolen wad. For gilt bronze, add 1 spoonful of alkali to 3 spoonfuls of water and rub the article with this by means of a ball of wadding. Next wipe with a clean chamois, similar to that employed in silvering.

«How to Clean Brass and Steel.»—To clean brasses quickly and economically, rub them with vinegar and salt or with oxalic acid. Wash immediately after the rubbing, and polish with tripoli and sweet oil. Unless the acid is washed off the article will tarnish quickly. Copper kettles and saucepans, brass andirons, fenders, and candlesticks and trays are best cleaned with vinegar and salt. Cooking vessels in constant use need only to be well washed afterwards. Things for show—even pots and pans—need the oil polishing, which gives a deep, rich, yellow luster, good for six months. Oxalic acid and salt should be employed for furniture brasses—if it touches the wood it only improves the tone. Wipe the brasses well with a wet cloth, and polish thoroughly with oil and tripoli. Sometimes powdered rotten stone does better than the tripoli. Rub, after using, either with a dry cloth or leather, until there is no trace of oil. The brass to be cleaned must be freed completely from grease, caked dirt, and grime. Wash with strong ammonia suds and rinse dry before beginning with the acid and salt.

The best treatment for wrought steel is to wash it very clean with a stiff brush {203} and ammonia soapsuds, rinse well, dry by heat, oil plentifully with sweet oil, and dust thickly with powdered quicklime. Let the lime stay on 2 days, then brush it off with a clean, very stiff brush. Polish with a softer brush, and rub with cloths until the luster comes out. By leaving the lime on, iron and steel may be kept from rust almost indefinitely.

Before wetting any sort of bric-a-brac, and especially bronzes, remove all the dust possible. After dusting, wash well in strong white soapsuds and ammonia, rinse clean, polish with just a suspicion of oil and rotten stone, and rub off afterwards every trace of the oil. Never let acid touch a bronze surface, unless to eat and pit it for antique effects.