Brasso Metal Polish > Reviews (5)

Both my partner and I have inherited quite a few metal items from parents and grandparents such as candlesticks and I have a few silver photo frames and christening goods that I like to keep clean. A standard polish cleans the metal ok, but I have found that it really dulls down the shine and I was recommended to use Brasso cleaner to bring my silver back to its former glory.

Brasso is available in a liquid metal polish as well as wadding which is like a fluffy material in a can which you rip off bit by bit and rub onto your metal directly as it already contains the brasso formula within the wadding. This is good as it is far less messy than the liquid formula would be but I went for the liquid formula purely because I thought it would do a better job.

A 150ml tin of brasso polish costs around £2.50 but you only need the tiniest amount per item so unless you have a ridiculously high number of metal items in your home, a tin will last you quite a while. It is really easy to use too. You simply dab some of the polish onto a cloth and rub gently into the item you are cleaning, then before the polish has dried, use a separate dry soft cloth to rub the excess polish off. By doing this you will remove any traces of the polish, as well as buffing your item to a really good shine.

The process is quick and easy and works on pewter, chrome, brass and copper. Your items look as good as new when finished. They are immaculately clean as well as being so shiny you can see your face in them.

The only problem I have really found with using this stuff is that you end up feeling quite grubby and dirty by the time you have finished. I have found that you can’t really wear rubber gloves whilst doing this job as you can’t get the accuracy as well with gloves on as the cloth tends to slip through your fingers. Using bare hands you have a better grip which gives you a better degree of accuracy so if your item has some nooks and crannies you are far more likely to clean them properly without gloves on. However, if you don’t wear gloves your hands will feel hideously dry and dirty after using this liquid and I felt it took a lot of washing, drying and hand cream to sort them back out again. I just felt in general really grubby as the polish is a dirty brownish colour so gets onto your skin no matter how careful you are.

The consistency of the polish is quite good. When you tip the bottle onto your cloth, it doesn’t run out the tin too quickly so you spill it everywhere. It has quite a thicker, gloopier consistency than water giving you better control over it, though it is still very easy to make a mess so I would highly recommend putting a sheet around the area you are working in so you don’t accidently spill any onto a carpet.

The smell of the liquid isn’t particularly nice but it isn’t too strong and the smell isn’t left behind on your items. I have owned my brasso polish for around 6 months now and I am just under half way through the bottle. Obviously this isn’t the sort of job that needs doing every week but from the last 6 months I find that doing the job every 6-8 weeks is enough to keep your metal products looking pristine.

Overall, although this stuff is messy and vile to use, it does the job and it does it well. Your metal items are not only clean, but really shiny too. It is important to use a soft cloths so you don’t scratch your items as you are cleaning them, but they do come up a treat so the mess and grubbiness is worth it and therefore this comes with a recommendation from me.