Vinegar Soaks = BAD for copper?

Hey everyone,

I did a 4-7 hour (I don't remember) soak of my Whitewater and Maze4 blocks in vinegar to remove some tarnish. Afterwards I rinsed with water, and wrapped them in ClingWrap to prevent scratching, they were shiny as hell...a day later they were heavily tarnished.

Was it from the vinegar?

They were exposed to very cold air today, might it have been condensation after I got them outa the cold?

I'm sorta worried, cause I need to sell these soon.

If memory serves, vinegar will clean metal very well, but, will cause it to tarnish very quickly. You haven't ruined anything permanently, just clean and polish with a proper polish and it should be fine. Good luck!

Ahh ok, thanks! I don't think I have a proper polish, what can I do about that?

The varnish does nothing towards the efficiency of the block, just leave it be.

bryan_d said:

The varnish does nothing towards the efficiency of the block, just leave it be.

Click to expand...

QFT

Water alone is not going to neutralize the acid. You have to stop the reaction.

Now that you have a nice tarnish. You can remove it with some simple home items.

Sodium Bicarbonate is a good base to stop the reaction as well as a slight buffing compound. It works for coins too. Make a paste and just use your fingers. A towel of some sorts works too. Make the paste thick enough to stick while your working it. It is also called "slurry"/ Use the bicarbonate after the water rince. You don't want the very cool bubbly reaction. Though it does not hurt it.

Another cheap buffing compound. White toothpaste, you need this type since it has micro abrasives.. Get the idea here.. You going to remove a smallest amount of material. Every buff is the same.. depends how much you need ot remove. Polish is the dinkiest of removal.

Ashes also work, if they are fine enough. Cigar and cig ashes are slightly acidic. So they will clean and polish and you rub. Sam,e thing as the soda, add a little bit of H²O to make a paste.

Or you can just buy some goop at a store and it will be much easier.

Ahh so that's how this works chemically...

When I first got the blocks I used a mix of Baking Soda and Vinegar that worked on the spot...but my Dad threw away the baking soda unfortunately.

Thanks for the help EnablingWolf, I'll have to use something different tomorrow then.

bryan_d said:

The varnish does nothing towards the efficiency of the block, just leave it be.

Click to expand...

Even so, when I post pics of my blocks, I want them to look shiny...it's just a nicer presentation, especially for used stuff.

I am going off my experiance of chemically removing crap off wood. You have to stop the reaction. Or odd stuff happens.

If you posted a tarnished block. I would lol at you. <If it is an even black.. you rock>

Baking soda is a whooping price of (under a dollar). Should of grabbed the box out of the ice box. If you do buy a box, store it there. It works good inside the fridge.