I finally tried the Ketchup bath to shine up tarnished copper. I read that the acidity of the vinegar in Ketchup removes tarnished copper. Wow. Was I ever surprised! I know this isn't anything new and many of you probably are aware of this, but for those of you who are not, I'm sharing my findings. Please excuse the crud photos, but you'll get the idea.So above we have our Ketchup (or "catsup" as my grandma used to say), any brand will do, a bowl, tweezers, paper towel and an unfinished copper clasp I made a couple months ago from pure copper wire.
Here is the aged copper clasp. It is a beautiful earthy color, but lets brighten this puppy up a bit.
If the copper piece you are wanting to brighten up is just that - a copper piece, you actually submerge it in the Ketchup. However, if there are beads, stones, etc. included, then I would suggest to not submerge it. I'm only partially submerging the clasp to show the difference after the Ketchup bath.
I only left it submerged for about 30-45 seconds, but you can leave it in longer. When I took it out of the bath it had already removed most of the tarnish on that section! I wiped it off with the paper towel and I was happily surprised with the outcome. Of course you clean it off with water afterwards as I did after the experiment and it was much brighter than the photo. Oh and you can also take a soft toothbrush with the Ketchup to help remove the tarnish.
This was so much fun that I wanted to do more! Although I got the strange urge to eat some french fries. Anyway, I looked around the studio for any other aged copper as I didn't want to waste my Ketchup bath! Nothing. Darn it! Hmm. I wonder if it works on aged skin?
Although Copper looks quite beautiful as it ages, especially that deep earthy brown shade (love it!) some people prefer the bright and shiny look. So if you want to brighten up your copper and want to go about it naturally, give it a Ketchup bath. And hey, while you're at it, toss some french fries in the oven and have a snack at the same time!
Sasha's Ketchup Facts of the Day:
(okay, they are not hers, she got them while surfing the web)
- People other than my grandma call it "catsup"
- 1 tbls has 16 calories and zero fat
- 4 tbls has the nurtional value of a medium ripe tomato
- ketchup originally contained pickled fish (YUCK!)
- is the main ingrediant of barbeque sauce
- you can kill a pickle with a toothpick and ketchup (according to my son when he was younger... very funny story I'll share one day)
"Ding" - ooh, gotta go, french fries are done!
Rocki
5 comments:
Cute post, very funny! And I didn't know about the ketchup shine trick! Following you from Etsy :)
Cute puppy! Thanks for the tip...I'm going to have to try that. I prefer my french fries plain, though.
that is really interesting! i love to learn new things... and you have now validated my son's claim that his eating ketchup on just about everything is like eating vegetables! he will thank you...
Thanks for the comments everyone and hello Heather!
I know, isn't it something? I figured it would be the acidity level from the tomatoes, but apparently it's the vinegar in ketchup.
Oh thanks B, Sasha is our precious little girl!
Hey Maire, guess maybe that would be a great way for kids to eat their vegies... pour ketchup on them! Yuck! I think we went through more ketchup than milk when my boys were growing up ;)
Yum! Now I am hungry for fries. I always like to mix the ketchup with the mustard and eat em together, it's so yummy!
Hilarious post! I love the dog facts :)
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