ANYWHO. A couple of weekends ago while thrifting when I should have been packing, I found this dirty little (brass) bird.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaCUySCHEjs8u8IJQ_qut80FJ-AGXkQpxrtH9GvEs8gSBnzpOdJ60fIYjLPsLgoncQoXwAUPqNfydF7ttBo2aBHiPSH21Paac6tJPOxLI0GgCp0phQ97TBPcXuARpmjGgrpSxgRxlKPk4/s1600/naturally+cleaned+brass+copy.jpg)
Patina is the best, but this was just looking grungy. I knew I could probably buy some brass cleaner to do the job, but I seemed to remember there were some great natural cleaners for brass. A little internet research proved this to be the case.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOjykMBWoN8MDkjJ5K9VZFfoS1RJgOk4t5D5Ka56iC3q7v9TXZ25Kq961yS1IB3rgr7Bt8YaDG0Ivo-bltXM352J32IXklTRJysUHS4qY67iAXi2NEI9JnKNoY4lqlVp38cuu0WQK9Rf4/s1600/naturally+cleaned+brass_1+copy.jpg)
Along with ketchup (catsup?), lemon juice is allegedly a great brass cleaner. Time to put it to the test!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8URAUVsTSKUs0zFkXtHljHddXN5ntwSeX_xf8_V5xML9ohWIIf1Atp2JFmZXLOoZaDU2aCVRhFsvllqamZ3OOLd8O5syEOrpXyyhkFiU36OFLgTxQx9pTPR4Dm4FVVc7F2ySdbCPaHFQ/s1600/naturally+cleaned+brass_2+copy.jpg)
Not to shabby eh? I only needed paper towels and lemon juice from the bottle to get this all spiffed up. For the more persistant spots, I let the lemon juice sit for a few minutes or scrubbed extra hard with the paper towel. After the bird dish looked good-n-shiny, I cleaned off the excess lemon juice with a little dish soap.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrH4mhG1RRsn_a8anJHWsBKE9Qm8ZE0a4akyBaTA6qtueXdXb-b77DUATyCrDD5O2Ww1RGUNRXHvB70auFAoFxAoIV7k3EMudBjEVa69ulJyd3C_Daz3yr8kbBFDFCOEUk7poJKqko5W4/s1600/naturally+cleaned+brass_3+copy.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd7N8UE_zYTtmhDbqyfRNCjWJO0XnNTd-vm4t19IDScv1p9-yChaj3odJc9AGeW0uADzrkG6hjHWZ-QeyPY1zEZSDE9Q6xzjzxLPIvvx4hXWNtYNv-qQdvHff9qQMiftvucO-4An7YRvM/s1600/naturally+cleaned+brass_5+copy.jpg)
You can see that it's not a perfect method, but I like that the lemon juice didn't brass things up to a garish point. A little bit of tarnish keeps things interesting. I especially like that the discoloration in the etching on the bird stayed put.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi86obBxE-R6N_ZMTZLLqLvEAJ50ZyPfeONF_VfXvHEONsMItPRiif8n8SZ7XUDL9asG6PjBZi77r7hxSAqC40m4WTx9WQD5lj0ye9c-orBUP7H9XcvhkjAY3fy2eY2vdrCVvVSKW6rc3s/s1600/naturally+cleaned+brass_4+copy.jpg)
Easy new way to clean brass - check!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8odoR95b4kXG45_LRoDFSYUXr832_srXPk9DUD2R4IhlladcASjPUcvrdHNu4hNi9Fx9DrWTokVyAFFdKxsE4s162SxRbCgrFNFh7RduObggm6KWjfZWOEpxpW6EPSLvMI89y4nxm8zE/s1600/naturally+cleaned+brass_6+copy.jpg)
Do you swear by any natural cleaning solutions? Please share! They're so awesome!