Part 37

«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.

«Composition for Cleaning Copper, Nickel, and other Metals.»—Wool grease, 46 parts, by weight; fire clay, 30 parts, by weight; paraffine, 5 parts, by weight; Canova wax, 5 parts, by weight; cocoanut oil, 10 parts, by weight; oil of mirbane, 1 part, by weight. After mixing these different ingredients, which constitute a paste, this is molded in order to give a cylindrical form, and introduced into a case so that it can be used like a stick of cosmetic.

«Putz Pomade.»—I.—Oxalic acid, 1 part; caput mortuum, 15 parts (or, if white pomade is desired, tripoli, 12 parts); powdered pumice stone, best grade, 20 parts; palm oil, 60 parts; petroleum or oleine, 4 parts. Perfume with mirbane oil.

II.—Oxalic acid 1 part Peroxide of iron (jewelers’ rouge) 15 parts Rotten stone 20 parts Palm oil 60 parts Petrolatum 5 parts

Pulverize the acid and the rotten stone and mix thoroughly with the rouge. Sift to remove all grit, then make into a paste with the oil and petrolatum. A little nitro-benzol may be added to scent the mixture.

III.—Oleine 40 parts Ceresine 5 parts Tripoli 40 parts Light mineral oil (0.870) 20 parts

Melt the oleine, ceresine, and mineral oil together, and stir in the tripoli; next, grind evenly in a paint mill.

«To Clean Gummed Parts of Machinery.»—Boil about 10 to 15 parts of caustic soda or 100 parts of soda in 1,000 parts of water, immerse the parts to be cleaned in this for some time, or, better, boil them with it. Then rinse and dry. For small shops this mode of cleaning is doubtless the best.

«To Remove Silver Plating.»—I.—Put sulphuric acid 100 parts and potassium nitrate (saltpeter) 10 parts in a vessel of stoneware or porcelain, heated on the water bath. When the silver has left the copper, rinse the objects several times. This silver stripping bath may be used several times, if it is kept in a well-closed bottle. When it is saturated with silver, decant the liquid, boil it to dryness, then add the residue to the deposit, and melt in the crucible to obtain the metal.

II.—Stripping silvered articles of the silvering may be accomplished by the following mixture: Sulphuric acid, 60° B., 3 parts; nitric acid, 40° B., 1 part; heat the mixture to about 166° F., and immerse the articles by means of a copper wire. In a few seconds the acid mixture will have done the work. A thorough rinsing off is, of course, necessary.

«To Clean Zinc Articles.»—In order to clean articles of zinc, stir rye bran into a paste with boiling water, and add a handful of silver sand and a little vitriol. Rub the article with this paste, rinse with water, dry, and polish with a cloth.

«To Remove Rust from Nickel.»—Smear the rusted parts well with grease (ordinary animal fat will do), and allow the article to stand several days. If the rust is not thick the grease and rust may be rubbed off with a cloth dipped in ammonia. If the rust is very deep, apply a diluted solution of hydrochloric acid, taking care that the acid does not touch the metal, and the rust may be easily rubbed off. Then wash the article and polish in the usual way.

«Compound for Cleaning Brass.»—To make a brass cleaning compound use oxalic acid, 1 ounce; rotten stone, 6 ounces; enough whale oil and spirits of turpentine of equal parts, to mix, and make a paste.

«To Clean Gilt Objects.»—I.—Into an ordinary drinking glass pour about 20 drops of ammonia, immerse the piece to be cleaned repeatedly in this, and brush with a soft brush. Treat the article with pure water, then with alcohol, and wipe with a soft rag.

II.—Boil common alum in soft, pure water, and immerse the article in the solution, or rub the spot with it, and dry with sawdust.

III.—For cleaning picture frames, {204} moldings, and, in fact, all kinds of gilded work, the best medium is liquor potassæ, diluted with about 5 volumes of water. Dilute alcohol is also excellent. Methylated wood spirit, if the odor is not objectionable, answers admirably.

«To Scale Cast Iron.»—To remove the scale from cast iron use a solution of 1 part vitriol and 2 parts water; after mixing, apply to the scale with a cloth rolled in the form of a brush, using enough to wet the surface well. After 8 or 10 hours wash off with water, when the hard, scaly surface will be completely removed.

«Cleaning Funnels and Measures.»—Funnels and measures used for measuring varnishes, oils, etc., may be cleaned by soaking them in a strong solution of lye or pearlash. Another mixture for the same purpose consists of pearlash with quicklime in aqueous solution. The measures are allowed to soak in the solution for a short time, when the resinous matter of the paint or varnish is easily removed. A thin coating of petroleum lubricating oils may be removed, it is said, by the use of naphtha or petroleum benzine.

«To Clean Aluminum.»—I.—Aluminum articles are very hard to clean so they will have a bright, new appearance. This is especially the case with the matted or frosted pieces. To restore the pieces to brilliancy place them for some time in water that has been slightly acidulated with sulphuric acid.

II.—Wash the aluminum with coal-oil, gasoline or benzine, then put it in a concentrated solution of caustic potash, and after washing it with plenty of water, dip it in the bath composed of 2⁠/⁠3 nitric acid and 1⁠/⁠3 water. Next, subject it to a bath of concentrated nitric acid, and finally to a mixture of rum and olive oil. To render aluminum capable of being worked like pure copper, 2⁠/⁠3 of oil of turpentine and 1⁠/⁠3 stearic acid are used. For polishing by hand, take a solution of 30 parts of borax and 1,000 parts of water, to which a few drops of spirits of ammonia have been added.

«How to Clean Tarnished Silver.»—I.—If the articles are only slightly tarnished, mix 3 parts of best washed and purified chalk and 1 part of white soap, adding water, till a thin paste is formed, which should be rubbed on the silver with a dry brush, till the articles are quite bright. As a substitute, whiting, mixed with caustic ammonia to form a paste, may be used. This mixture is very effective, but it irritates the eyes and nose.

II.—An efficacious preparation is obtained by mixing beech-wood ashes, 2 parts; Venetian soap, 4⁠/⁠100 part; cooking salt, 2 parts; rain water, 8 parts. Brush the silver with this lye, using a somewhat stiff brush.

III.—A solution of crystallized potassium permanganate has been recommended.

IV.—A grayish violet film which silverware acquires from perspiration, can be readily removed by means of ammonia.

V.—To remove spots from silver lay it for 4 hours in soapmakers’ lye, then throw on fine powdered gypsum, moisten the latter with vinegar to cause it to adhere, dry near the fire, and wipe off. Next rub the spot with dry bran. This not only causes it to disappear, but gives extraordinary gloss to the silver.

VI.—Cleaning with the usual fine powders is attended with some difficulty and inconvenience. An excellent result is obtained without injury to the silver by employing a saturated solution of hyposulphite of soda, which is put on with a brush or rag. The article is then washed with plenty of water.

VII.—Never use soap on silverware, as it dulls the luster, giving the article more the appearance of pewter than silver. When it wants cleaning, rub it with a piece of soft leather and prepared chalk, made into a paste with pure water, entirely free from grit.

«To Clean Dull Gold.»—I.—Take 80 parts, by weight, of chloride of lime, and rub it up with gradual addition of water in a porcelain mortar into a thin, even paste, which is put into a solution of 80 parts, by weight, of bicarbonate of soda, and 20 parts, by weight, of salt, in 3,000 parts, by weight, of water. Shake it, and let stand a few days before using. If the preparation is to be kept for any length of time the bottle should be placed, well corked, in the cellar. For use, lay the tarnished articles in a dish, pour the liquid, which has previously been well shaken, over them so as just to cover them, and leave them therein for a few days.

II.—Bicarbonate of soda. 31 parts Chloride of lime 15.5 parts Cooking salt 15 parts Water 240 parts

Grind the chloride of lime with a little water to a thin paste, in a porcelain vessel, and add the remaining chemicals. Wash the objects with the aid of a soft brush with the solution, rinse several times in water, and dry in fine sawdust. {205}

«Cleaning Bronze Objects.»—Employ powdered chicory mixed with water, so as to obtain a paste, which is applied with a brush. After the brushing, rinse off and dry in the sun or near a stove.

«Cleaning Gilded Bronzes.»—I.—Commence by removing the spots of grease and wax with a little potash or soda dissolved in water. Let dry, and apply the following mixture with a rag: Carbonate of soda, 7 parts; whiting, 15 parts; alcohol (85°), 50 parts; water, 125 parts. When this coating is dry pass a fine linen cloth or a piece of supple skin over it. The hollow parts are cleaned with a brush.

II.—After removing the grease spots, let dry and pass over all the damaged parts a pencil dipped in the following mixture: Alum, 2 parts; nitric acid, 65; water, 250 parts. When the gilding becomes bright, wipe, and dry in the sun or near a fire.

III.—Wash in hot water containing a little soda, dry, and pass over the gilding a pencil soaked in a liquid made of 30 parts nitric acid, 4 parts of aluminum phosphate, and 125 parts of pure water. Dry in sawdust.

IV.—Immerse the objects in boiling soap water, and facilitate the action of the soap by rubbing with a soft brush; put the objects in hot water, brush them carefully, and let them dry in the air; when they are quite dry rub the shining parts only with an old linen cloth or a soft leather, without touching the others.

«Stripping Gilt Articles.»—Degilding or stripping gilt articles may be done by attaching the object to the positive pole of a battery and immersing it in a solution composed of 1 pound of cyanide dissolved in about 1 gallon of water. Desilvering may be effected in the same manner.

«To Clean Tarnished Zinc.»—Apply with a rag a mixture of 1 part sulphuric acid with 12 parts of water. Rinse the zinc with clear water.

«Cleaning Pewter Articles.»—Pour hot lye of wood ashes upon the tin, throw on sand, and rub with a hard, woolen rag, hat felt, or whisk until all particles of dirt have been dissolved. To polish pewter plates it is well to have the turner make similar wooden forms fitting the plates, and to rub them clean this way. Next they are rinsed with clean water and placed on a table with a clean linen cover on which they are left to dry without being touched, otherwise spots will appear. This scouring is not necessary so often if the pewter is rubbed with wheat bran after use and cleaned perfectly. New pewter is polished with a paste of whiting and brandy, rubbing the dishes with it until the mass becomes dry.

«To Clean Files.»—Files which have become clogged with tin or lead are cleaned by dipping for a few seconds into concentrated nitric acid. To remove iron filings from the file cuts, a bath of blue vitriol is employed. After the files have been rinsed in water they are likewise dipped in nitric acid. File-ridges closed up by zinc are cleaned by immersing the files in diluted sulphuric acid. Such as have become filled with copper or brass are also treated with nitric acid, but here the process has to be repeated several times. The files should always be rinsed in water after the treatment, brushed with a stiff brush, and dried in sawdust or by pouring alcohol over them, and letting it burn off on the file.

«Scale Pan Cleaner.»—About the quickest cleaner for brass scale pans is a solution of potassium bichromate in dilute sulphuric acid, using about 1 part of chromate, in powder, to 3 parts of acid and 6 parts of water. In this imbibe a cloth wrapped around a stick (to protect the hands), and with it rub the pans. Do this at tap or hydrant, so that no time is lost in placing the pan in running water after having rubbed it with the acid solution. For pans not very badly soiled rubbing with ammonia water and rinsing is sufficient.

«Tarnish on Electro-Plate Goods.»—This tarnish can be removed by dipping the article for from 1 to 15 minutes—that is, until the tarnish shall have been removed—in a pickle of the following composition: Rain water 2 gallons and potassium cyanide 1⁠/⁠2 pound. Dissolve together, and fill into a stone jug or jar, and close tightly. The article, after having been immersed, must be taken out and thoroughly rinsed in several waters, then dried with fine, clean sawdust. Tarnish on jewelry can be speedily removed by this process; but if the cyanide is not completely removed it will corrode the goods.

«OIL-, GREASE-, PAINT-SPOT ERADICATORS:»

«Grease- and Paint-Spot Eradicators.»—

I.—Benzol 500 parts Benzine 500 parts Soap, best white, shaved 5 parts Water, warm, sufficient.

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Dissolve the soap in the warm water, using from 50 to 60 parts. Mix the benzol and benzine, and add the soap solution, a little at a time, shaking up well after each addition. If the mixture is slow in emulsifying, add at one time from 50 to 100 parts of warm water, and shake violently. Set the emulsion aside for a few days, or until it separates, then decant the superfluous water, and pour the residual pasty mass, after stirring it up well, into suitable boxes.

II.—Soap spirit 100 parts Ammonia solution, 10 per cent 25 parts Acetic ether 15 parts

III.—Extract of quillaia 1 part Borax 1 part Ox gall, fresh 6 parts Tallow soap 15 parts

Triturate the quillaia and borax together, incorporate the ox gall, and, finally, add the tallow soap and mix thoroughly by kneading. The product is a plastic mass, which may be rolled into sticks or put up into boxes.

«Removing Oil Spots from Leather.»—To remove oil stains from leather, dab the spot carefully with spirits of sal ammoniac, and after allowing it to act for a while, wash with clean water. This treatment may have to be repeated a few times, taking care, however, not to injure the color of the leather. Sometimes the spot may be removed very simply by spreading the place rather thickly with butter and letting this act for a few hours. Next scrape off the butter with the point of a knife, and rinse the stain with soap and lukewarm water.

«To Clean Linoleum.»—Rust spots and other stains can be removed from linoleum by rubbing with steel chips.

«To Remove Putty, Grease, etc., from Plate Glass.»—To remove all kinds of greasy materials from glass, and to leave the latter bright and clean, use a paste made of benzine and burnt magnesia of such consistence that when the mass is pressed between the fingers a drop of benzine will exude. With this mixture and a wad of cotton, go over the entire surface of the glass, rubbing it well. One rubbing is usually sufficient. After drying, any of the substance left in the corners, etc., is easily removed by brushing with a suitable brush. The same preparation is very useful for cleaning mirrors and removing grease stains from books, papers, etc.

«Removing Spots from Furniture.»—White spots on polished tables are removed in the following manner: Coat the spot with oil and pour on a rag a few drops of “mixtura balsamica oleosa,” which can be bought in every drug store, and rub on the spot, which will disappear immediately.

«To Remove Spots from Drawings, etc.»—Place soapstone, fine meerschaum shavings, amianthus, or powdered magnesia on the spot, and, if necessary, lay on white filtering paper, saturating it with peroxide of hydrogen. Allow this to act for a few hours, and remove the application with a brush. If necessary, repeat the operation. In this manner black coffee spots were removed from a valuable diagram without erasure by knife or rubber.

«WATCHMAKERS’ AND JEWELERS’ CLEANING PREPARATIONS:»

«To Clean the Tops of Clocks in Repairing.»—Sprinkle whiting on the top. Pour good vinegar over this and rub vigorously. Rinse in clean water and dry slowly in the sun or at the fire. A good polish will be obtained.

«To Clean Watch Chains.»—Gold or silver watch chains can be cleaned with a very excellent result, no matter whether they be matt or polished, by laying them for a few seconds in pure aqua ammonia; they are then rinsed in alcohol, and finally shaken in clean sawdust, free from sand. Imitation gold and plated chains are first cleaned in benzine, then rinsed in alcohol, and afterwards shaken in dry sawdust. Ordinary chains are first dipped in the following pickle: Pure nitric acid is mixed with concentrated sulphuric acid in the proportion of 10 parts of the former to 2 parts of the latter; a little table salt is added. The chains are boiled in this mixture, then rinsed several times in water, afterwards in alcohol, and finally dried in sawdust.