DIY Home Improvement Guide | Cleaning Brass Door Knobs

Cleaning Brass Door Knobs

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Cleaning brass door knobs is an easy and important project, especially when you have vintage door knobs.  Keeping vintage knobs looking somewhat new will help make sure that they stay in good condition and last another hundred years.

This project will be divided into two camps.  First, we’ll go through the steps of cleaning newer knobs that have just built up grime and goo from normal use, and after that we’ll talk about deep cleaning and brass polishing.  The steps from the basic cleaning can also be used for the deep cleaning to remove any gunk and junk that are on them.

Cleaning Brass Door Knobs

  1. Determine whether or not you have to take off the knob to get all of the grime off.  Look around the plate of the knob to see if the dirt has penetrated behind it.
  2. The severity of dirt will determine the cleaning solution that you’ll use.  Soap and water will work for mild jobs, but degreaser might be needed for the heavier jobs.  Follow the instructions on the degreaser to make sure that it doesn’t affect the finish on the door knob.
  3. Use a cloth, sponge, or soft plastic brush to work out all of the dirt and grime.
  4. You may see know that your door knobs really need to be polished or have unwanted tarnish.  If that’s the case, move onto the next section.  If not, nice job!  Enjoy the rest of your afternoon!

Deeper cleaning and tarnish removal requires a different process and solution.  This is more for vintage door knobs, but will obviously work for any really dirty brass door knob.

Materials: Screwdrivers to get door knobs off, ammonia, Brasso or other brass polish, rubber gloves, cloth towels that you have no problem throwing away later.

  1. Remove the door knob and plate from the door.  If you’re doing multiple doors, only stick to three or four knobs at a time.  Doing more at a time will turn into a big undertaking.
  2. Glove up and use ammonia with a cloth towel to get the tarnish off.  You can also use the scour side of a sponge if the tarnish is really bad.
  3. Change or wash your gloves and use the brass polish to make everything look great.  The amount of elbow grease that you put into the polish, the more junk and impurities will come out.  A problem that you’ll run into here is that your first knobs and plates are going to look better than the later ones because your arms will get tired as you go.  Pay close attention to how shiny each one is, and do your best to get the other ones looking the same.
  4. Reinstall the door knobs, and you’re finished.

Some people will spray a lacquer finish on the door knob after it’s clean to keep it clean and tarnish-free longer.  Personally, I’m not a fan of this because I can never get the lacquer to dry smooth.  If you’re good with a spray can, you may want to consider this step.

Related posts:

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  3. Choose The Brass Door Knob That Fits Your Home
  4. Vintage Door Knobs
  5. Vintage Glass Door Knobs
  6. Chrome Door Knobs
  7. Oil Rubbed Bronze Door Knobs
  8. Brass Hinges
  9. Why Are Pink Crystal Door Knobs So Hard To Find?
  10. Where To Find Vintage Door Knobs

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