Hardier than silver and less apt to tarnish, brass has its own set of maintenance rules. Unlike silver tarnish which typically wipes right off, brass tarnish requires a little more elbow grease to eliminate. However, it is less noticeable than the dark black tarnish of silver, thus many people do not know their brass needs attention. The beautiful pale champagne color of newly polished brass is stunning and makes polishing highly worth the extra effort.

Although Brasso® works just fine (use a soft toothbrush under water to get tarnish out of the crevices), Al Crabtree routinely uses Wright’s® Copper Cream. “Add a coat of car wax after it’s dry, and you’ll be good for a while,” he says. Kay Durham removes grime with a metal polish called Happich Simichrome Polish® and a light scrubbing with 0000 steel wool or, surprisingly, Vanish® toilet bowl cleaner, which whisks away heavy deposits. Just be sure to rinse and dry the piece thoroughly.