Easily Clean Copper With an Unlikely Item

Kimberley's Joy
by Kimberley's Joy
2 Materials
$2
15 Minutes
Easy

I purchased this piggy trivet at my local Goodwill for $2.99 for no other reason than I thought it was cute. I was pretty sure I'd be able to clean it up fairly easy using an old method I learned long ago, or hoped so anyway.

I purchased something else during the same trip to

Goodwill and after two days of working toward restoration I had to give in and admit defeat.


I'm pleased with how pretty my piggy is now especially since it was cleaned quickly at no cost! Yay me

Here she is, my cute but dirty little piggy 🐷

It was more difficult to figure out the stamp than it was to clean it. Turns out she's vintage and worth more than $2.99

Here it is, the big secret.... toothpaste. This tube was included in my post dentist visit goodie bag. Well, maybe it's a parting gift for good behavior 🤔 ie: "thank you for not biting me, please have a toothbrush, dental floss & travel toothpaste"? Thoughts...

I applied a small amount of toothpaste to the top of the trivet then used an old sponge (wet) to scrub in circular motions.

I rinsed the sponge off and continued scrubbing eventually rinsing off the trivet, reapplying toothpaste and repeating. I did this twice because I was shooting for a very shiny look, if you preger more petina than you could stop sooner.

Here it is all done. Isn't she purdy?

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  2 questions
  • Jane Murray Jane Murray on Nov 09, 2021

    What kind of toothpaste. There are so many these days.

  • Pam Pam on Nov 12, 2022

    Would this work on an intricate antique brass picture frame using an old toothbrush to scrub into the crevices?

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3 of 22 comments
  • Adorable, I love your pig trivet! Nice work and great find!

  • Carole White Carole White on Nov 13, 2022

    Very cute piggy! Coincidentally, I just used this method on an old scratched up brass drawer handle and it worked beautifully! I just used my everyday brand of toothpaste. Tried the vinegar and salt method mixed with flour but no luck. On copper, I tried the ketchup method but that was just gross. Nice to have a few homemade options to try though!

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