I immersed a yellow copper bell in a solution of warm water and tartaric acid and the copper turned red. Why and what now?
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From the kitchen.com
Form a paste for tougher areas: Squeeze lemon juice into a bowl and mix with salt. Apply to the lemon with a spoon and rub directly on copper. Allowing longer exposure by using a paste will help clean stained or hard-to-reach areas. Rinse and dry: Rinse the pot clean with warm water
It sounds like the bell had a protective lacquer on it that gave it the yellow coloring your talking about and when u used the acid and water on it , it has just stripped away that lacquer coloring that was on the bell down to the original color of the copper. I know people use acid to clean old coins and that's basically what it does.The Original color of copper is generally a bright pink, peach. If the bell didn't have any lacquer on it then I'm betting that the yellowing color that the bell began as, that you and many antique collectors actually prefer, was caused by the copper aging over some time.
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