Glass Message Board
Glass Identification - Post here for all ID requests => Glass => Topic started by: Baked_Beans on September 01, 2016, 10:41:23 AM
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I have had such amazing results cleaning a lead crystal vase using a metal polish I just have to tell everyone !
Peek metal polish (by appointment to the Queen ;) ) cleans all metals ,ceramic and fibreglass . So I was given a tip to use a metal polish to clear cloudyness on this vase and it's gone, vanished , with very little effort (about 10 minutes ) .
I just used kitchen paper and rubbed the paste around and polished it off with a clean cloth.
The vase dates from c1930's and is a Gerda Stromberg design for Stombergshyttan. (see before and after pic..)
As Peek can be used on fiberglass then I guess it can't damage glass in anyway but I need to add a disclaimer and say seek professional advise when attemting to clean and restore any rare and valuable glass ;D
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Would that be similar to Brasso, Mike? That looks like a paste, while Brasso is a liquid, but I think they might do the same job.
Brasso is the right stuff for cleaning ivory. (Tip from an old, traditional piano tuner.)
If you need to remove rust stains, minced/grated raw onion is the solution.
It can be used to unrust nuts and screws too. Very useful for the fittings on ceiling plafonts. I've succeeded in separating a single mass of rust back into a usable screw and nut before.
Essential if the nut is a frilly, decorative one which needs saved. :)
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Thank you so much for the tip! I've been faffing about with polishes and machines in the kitchen, hanging half above and in the sink etc. and this sounds so easy!
Could you just confirm please, if you used it dry, with a damp cloth or added water?
Can't wait to try it!
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Peak is super stuff, but I've not tried it on cloudy glass. I wonder if it works because it leaves a slightly oily residue on the glass? Fine for vases but not good for drinking glasses or decanters.
I did find that a cloudy tumbler when filled with pineapple juice then emptied and washed again magically became clear once more. :)
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Pineapple juice contains digestive enzymes, it would eat up organic residues. :)
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It's definitely a paste rather than a liquid . It's like toothpaste . I wonder if Brasso would work just as well ?
I think the fact that the glass is lead crystal might have something to do with how well the polish worked. I haven't tried it on soda glass.
Anne it's very much like toothpaste so I just rubbed it in using kitchen paper straight from the tube.
If it is something to do with the oily protection residue left by Peek then that could be a problem . Somehow I don't think it is . Not sure though will have to give it a good wash in fairy liquid to see .
Might try the onion trick on a rusty bolt Sue !! ;)
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Just given it a good old wash with fairy liquid and the cloudyness has come back !! ...Ahhh !! So it's all down to the oily residue left by Peek which protects metal .
At least I have discovered a temporary fix ...but buyers beware :o Ahhhhh !! :'( Thanks Anne for pointing that out !
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So it's back to the sink then I guess ... :-\
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a similar result - and again only temporary - can be achieved a little easier by simply applying a very thin film of silicone grease to the surface in question........ the advantage is that it doesn't evaporate, at least not in the short term - but as mentioned probably not safe to apply to drinking glasses.
If you look back in the Board's archives, we must have spilled gallons of ink on this subject, with little to show for it other than professional treatment being the only real solution. Acid washes will remove a micron or two of glass, smoothing the corroded glass surface and returning it to something like its original condition, although pieces with engraving or some other forms of decoration may not be suitable.
Lime scale can be removed by immersing in one of the proprietary WC lime scale liquids, but think I came to the conclusion that the moment you start to scour a surface which has some lime scale, then you run the risk of scratching the surface, and adding to the problem.
I bought one of these products recently, for the toilet, and it worked a treat - removing substantial and stubborn amounts of scale - but of course had the item been of glass and not glazed ceramic, then damage to the surface may well have already been done. There must be something in lime scale that is corrosive to the surface of glass.
Obvious to say it of course, but making a point of cleaning a vase thoroughly after each flowery occasion, will prevent the build up of scale.
Hard water areas are probably the most problematic - I'm not sure you get scale with soft water.
Sorry, should have added .... acid must never be used as a home treatment - requires professional knowledge and can be very dangerous.
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You do not get a "scale" with soft water, but it's not completely free of stuff. My kettle eventually goes a bit brown inside, with a very, very fine, dull layer of I-haven't-a-clue-what. It doesn't come off.
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Oh, I know what that 'brown' stuff is ;) ;) Whenever I went to the Highlands and drank from the mountain burns, you could always tell you were in Scotland ......... most of the stones and other bric-a-brac in the streams were covered in this substance - it's called Scottish tarnish, and arises because the natives are too mean to buy, and use, a descaler ;D ;)
I've a feeling there's something similar in Welsh mountain streams - assume it happens due to the acid/peat soils, as opposed to the chalk/limestone in the south of the U.K., where our water is very hard in some places.
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Sorry Anne T. I thought I could have saved you from the sink :'( .... I guess it's a good temporary fix :-X
I'm just worried that some unscrupulous sellers might use these methods to disguise cloudy glass !! Never heard of silicone grease Paul ...but thanks for the tip !!
Sue you could try to find out from your local water authority about your water . They should be able to give you an analysis of it ...might give you a clue as to why your kettle turns brown ...unless it's rust !! :o Sorry Paul our posts crossed ...I was going to mention peat and whisky flavours but thought it might complicate things !! ??? ::)
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silicone grease helps to keep two mating/contiguous surfaces from seizing or binding together (preventing them from coming apart). Not necessarily metal surfaces - could be wood or plastic. When I've finally managed to get the two main parts of a fountain pen barrel apart, a small amount of silicone grease is then applied to the plastic threads which in theory then prevents them locking up again...... some surfaces of similar material when together, under pressure, seem almost to weld themselves into one.
Wish I could lay original claim to the idea of using this stuff on glass - it was a suggestion from the other side of the pond some years back at a time when we were very keen on chatting about this subject.
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These methods of disguising cloudy glass are a real eye opener for me Paul ....I'm a bit worried now i've mentioned it ::) ....the huge / vast majority of the World's population however are good honest people ...just something to be aware of I guess ...if buying glass of value :D
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Ivo mentioned the silicone grease/oil as well, but he also mentioned that my vase shouldn't be sold like that ... I don't know why ... must be bad for flowers I guess :)
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I should think it's quite inert and waterproof, and the flowers are going to die eventually anyway ;) - but selling a piece of glass which had been treated would of course give a false impression of the clarity of your vase - not being honest maybe - perhaps that's why Ivo suggested not using it prior to selling.
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Pineapple juice worked for me, she said, again. And it stayed clear! :) Thanks to Sue for explaining why it works. :)
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I should think it's quite inert and waterproof, and the flowers are going to die eventually anyway ;) - but selling a piece of glass which had been treated would of course give a false impression of the clarity of your vase - not being honest maybe - perhaps that's why Ivo suggested not using it prior to selling.
Sorry Paul, i was only being silly, of course i understood what Ivo meant. :-*
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actually, I only come here for the kisses, and Belgian chocs. are very good too ;) ;)
So very glad to hear the fruit juice worked Anne, and very clever of Sue to know the reason why - but makes you wonder quite what pineapple juice might be doing to our insides :o
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Paul! :P
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It will remove your fingerprints, as workers in pineapple canneries used to be able to attest.
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that blumin' man "cooked" a pork belly by injecting it with pineapple juice on tv once.
My own fingerprints are currently disappearing, ;D but that's just one of my weird symptoms and nothing to do with fruit.
Eating a diet of nothing but pineapple will dissolve you from the inside out. Not to be recommended.
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Eating a diet of just one thing isn't good, irrespective of what it is! :)
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as teenagers - when old money was still spendable and before decimilization had been dreamed of - we sometimes soaked those large old pennies (d) in Coca-Cola or Pepsi. This would produce a marvellously shining coin that looked just like new - bet those drinks didn't do our insides too good either. :)
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Absolutely, Anne, a single food is of no use, but there are some single ones which are worse than others and will result in more damage earlier on. From what I have gathered, squirrel meat is particularly devoid of nutrients other than the protein and will result in a rapid demise from a lack of vitamins, while pineapple will dissolve your innards and there's not much recovering from that.
Carrots will turn you bright orange but not kill you quite so quickly - and you can recover from them, I believe.
The stuff Paul mentions is good for cleaning toilets as well as coins, but not much else. ;)
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I've experimented with T-Cut Colour Restorer with some success in the past - used for paintwork on cars (& other painted surfaces). But, I've only ever used it on pieces of glass that are not valuable.
It worked on very light surface scratches. I haven't tried it out on cloudy glass, but try to avoid buying that.
Its supposed to bring back lustre, remove oxidation, scratches, ingrained grime, tar spots and baked on insects ;D
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A dremel with a felt pad and a thin paste made with cerium oxide and some patience is my tried and tested method- I've made a few custom implements for tall slender vases and also utilise tiny fishing weights :)
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just wish people wouldn't keep carping on about it........ ;) ;) when you say tiny fishing weights, are you referring to what anglers call 'split-shot' - those 2 - 3 mm. dia. balls, that once were made of lead, but now are required by law, I think, to be made from another less toxic metal?? ............ or did you mean something completely different :)
For enclosed cavities such as decanters, there is a proprietary product called 'Magic Balls' (or at least there used to be) - small 'shot' shaped steel balls covered in copper, which can be used inside the glass - with some form of liquid metal polish such as Brasso - and then shaken for some minutes. But this product will obviously not repair damage to the surface of the glass, and is intended to remove light staining only.
If you read the old posts, there was much talk of using flexible drives powered by an electric drill, and felt discs and cerium/aluminium oxide etc.
On external curved surfaces, care is needed to avoid putting 'flats' on surfaces, if too much rubbing is applied.
Unless the water staining is light, I always found it frustrating not being able to repair the surface properly, and of course there's always the problem - especially on internal surfaces - that after the scale has been removed, the glass will prove to be damaged and beyond amateur repair.
Appreciate this all sounds very pessimistic, but so often we spend a long time working on a piece of glass, then washing and drying it, only to find it still remains cloudy. :'(
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Cerium oxide and a drill attachment with a sponge on the end of a plastic rod works for me on most waterstained glass, if you can see pitting inside the glass then it's hopeless it will need an acid dip. You can buy kits on eBay that do the job with videos on you tube that show you how it works, just don't use jewels rouge it will stain the glass red. It takes time and patience to clean old waterstained glass but the difference it can make is well worth the effort, I've found its near impossible to restore irridesent glass the likes of walsh walsh as the cerium oxide will remove the irridesent top layer which is very fine.
Cerium oxide is pointless on scratch marks they will have to be ground down then repolished then you will loose the original shape of the glass, damage and scratches and staining has to be expected of most well used glass.
Everything else, the steel balls, sterident and the like are as good as soap and water.
I clean almost all the interior glass I have that is dirty with an old flexible barbecue skewer and cut down to size washing up scourers, there are grab tools you can buy from eBay to clean the interior of most glass and I use magills forceps to get the sponges back out of tight spaces (I'm lucky to be In the trade to get magills for free but I think you can buy them online as well).