There are many recipes for home-made copper cleaners.  These can be not only less expensive than name brand cleaners but for those who do not want chemicals in their home, these can be a good alternative.

There are a lot of sites with recipes for metal cleaners on them but which ones work better? We have tested some of the home-made copper cleaning recipes and here are some results with pictures.  There are lots of variations of vinegar and salt. The acid in the vinegar will clean copper, some have flour or other ingredients to make a paste to keep the acid on the copper.  Ketchup and Lemon juice are also acids and will clean copper and brass.

The Testing

We divided a piece of copper into areas which would be tested.

On each section, we applied a home-made copper cleaner made from ingredients found around the house.  The bottom section was left bare for a comparison.  The left side is a paste of Lemon Juice and Cream of Tarter.  The Upper section is Vinegar, Salt and Flour.  The Right Side is Catsup. 

We waited 30 minutes and rinsed off the cleaners. The little clean spot on the untreated area is a drop of lemon juice.

 We reapplied the cleaners, waited another 30 minutes to give them all a fair chance and here are the results after 60 minutes of sitting with the cleaners sitting on them.

We were amazed at the difference.  These cleaners were just put on and rinsed off with no scrubbing. 

This top area was salt, flour and vinegar. 

Lemon & Cream of TarterKetchup

Bare - No Cleaners

We are planning on conducting more tests. Do you want us to let you know when we update this page and add more pictures of additional tests? Give us your name and email and we will keep you updated.  We promise NEVER to sell, rent, or disclose your information.

If you know of a recipe not on our site that you would like to see tested and compared, please send it to us. We will be happy to include the recipe in our comparisons.  Please use the following form.

Here  are the recipes we used and some additional ones as well.

Copper and Brass Cleaner 1 pint vinegar 3 tablespoons salt Fill a spray bottle with vinegar and add salt. Spray solution liberally on copper or brass. Let set for a while, then simply rub clean.

Brass or Copper Polish: Mix one teaspoon salt, one tablespoon flour and enough vinegar to make a thick paste.  Rub paste on surface and let dry completely.  Rinse in warm soapy water, buff with clean soft cloth.

Sprinkle the surface with lemon juice, shake salt all over it, then rub with a soft sponge.

Lemon juice Baking soda or cream of tartar Make a paste about the consistency of toothpaste. Rub onto brass or copper with a soft cloth. Rinse with water and dry.

Copper Pots. To remove tarnish from copper pots, rub with lemon halves dipped in salt

Vinegar and Salt. If copper is tarnished, boil article in a pot of water with 1 tablespoon salt and 1 cup white vinegar for several hours. Wash with soap in hot water. Rinse and dry.

Lemon Juice and Cream of Tartar. Make a paste of lemon juice and cream of tartar. Apply, leave on for 5 minutes, and then wash in warm water. Dry with a soft cloth.

The first secret was ketchup. Ketchup is great for cleaning copper, even spaghetti sauce will clean copper effectively.

Cleaner for Copper or Brass: Make a paste of vinegar (or lemon juice), salt and corn meal. The corn meal helps make it easier to spread on an item and the vinegar /lemon juice and salt do the work.

To clean copper: Place item in a pan of tomato juice and wait until it shines. Or use a lemon wedge dipped in salt to gently scour the metal.