Another Copper Cleaning Method

by **TassieStiller** » Sat Nov 03, 2012 10:00 pm

Hi all,
I was told about another simple method for cleaning copper without nasty chemicals etc. Safe to do bare handed and not a problem with splashes on clothes etc (I think :? )

Mix an amount of citric acid powder (which is used in my TPW recipe) with hot water and place copper into the solution. I left it there for a few hours while I was out doing other things.
I came back and gave it a light rub with steel wool and the picture below is the result. It was only a small part, but it showed the effectiveness of it. The two pieces were identical before the cleanup and the result is remarkable

IMG_1300.jpg

Thanks to Chocaholic for the tip :handgestures-thumbupleft:

by **Lowndsey** » Sat Nov 03, 2012 10:21 pm

Yeah there's a million things out there to clean it up and get it sparkling...but I wanna know how the hell to keep it like that. I cleaned mine up and a couple days later it's as dull as again...I wonder what the point is?

by **TassieStiller** » Sat Nov 03, 2012 10:28 pm

Once cleaned, you need to lacquer it somehow. Some have sprayed it in hair products, others in a varnish. I haven't found the "way" of lacquering for me yet. I would be interested in ideas from others though :D

by **Lupus** » Sat Nov 03, 2012 10:58 pm

Having not polished copper yet, I need to ask, wouldn't the same effect be achieved by using any acidic liquid? After all, the net effect is simply to strip away the oxide layer. So, wouldn't cleaning with vinegar have the same effect if trying to shine up the copper?

by **Lowndsey** » Sat Nov 03, 2012 11:06 pm

Yeah vinegar, lemon juice, hydrocloric acid, tomato sauce anything acidy

by **TassieStiller** » Sat Nov 03, 2012 11:16 pm

Very true. I was just posting a method I was told about that did not include corrosive chemicals such as CLR and others for those who possibly wouldn't want to go down that chemical path. Anything with some acidity would work.
Coke used to clean up those coins nicely when I was younger as well :-D

by **invisigoth** » Mon Nov 05, 2012 9:04 pm

TassieStiller wrote:Once cleaned, you need to lacquer it somehow. Some have sprayed it in hair products, others in a varnish. I haven't found the "way" of lacquering for me yet. I would be interested in ideas from others though :D

i don't think hair products would be terribly durable. i'm not sure what lacquer pure distilling uses, but their copper is lacquered. temp isn't likely to go much over 100c so most automotive clears would probably do it, but if you wanted to be sure, there is high temp clear for exhaust systems. i seem to recall that a thread for keeping your copper shiny was mentioned in kiwistillers cleaning run tutorial. :think:

i kinda like the look of brushed copper, so i used an automotive scouring pad to rub the copper in the same direction on my extension tube/parrot.

by **Sam.** » Mon Nov 05, 2012 9:24 pm

As long as the inside of my stills are clean I couldn't give two fucks what the outside looks like but thats just me....... :whistle:

by **Kimbo** » Mon Nov 05, 2012 9:55 pm

I just got some clear lacquer from bunnings and it works well.
What I found is that moisture in the atmosphere causes the copper to tarnish, so even tho i got my still nice and shiny, I still have some tarnishing occurring under the lacquer, (but much more slowly). I discussed this with Mac once and he suggested doing it again on a really dry day. :doh: Why didn't I think of that :-B

by **skelty** » Fri Dec 07, 2012 11:22 am

Yep you can get clear lacquer spray...wattyls do one from any good hardwarestore i reckon.

by **Camikaze** » Fri Dec 07, 2012 11:38 am

Well, we've covered hair products.

Might be worth a go.... :laughing-rolling: :laughing-rolling:

70609011_H.jpg

by **crow** » Fri Dec 07, 2012 12:18 pm

As acetone dissolves that shit can't see it working out well for ya :laughing-rolling:

by **crow** » Fri Dec 07, 2012 12:25 pm

sam_and_liv wrote:As long as the inside of my stills are clean I couldn't give two fucks what the outside looks like but thats just me....... :whistle:

Well you is one side in front of me then :)) long as the oxide ain't enough to effect the taste/colour I couldn't give a rats left knacker

by **Sam.** » Fri Dec 07, 2012 1:48 pm

croweater wrote:
sam_and_liv wrote:As long as the inside of my stills are clean I couldn't give two fucks what the outside looks like but thats just me....... :whistle:

Well you is one side in front of me then :)) long as the oxide ain't enough to effect the taste/colour I couldn't give a rats left knacker

Touche :D

by **wolbi74** » Thu Dec 27, 2012 8:54 pm

Hi Guys,

we used to have a humungous copper covered extraction unit a work and we used Lemon juice and table salt. rub with the soft side of a scourer. works a treat