If you want to paint something metal or paint concrete, wipe it down with white household vinegar first, and your paint job will last much longer.
My dad once rescued a beautiful and ornate wrought iron shelving from the dump. It was rusty and looked like it should have stayed in the dump. I previously read where if you wipe it well with vinegar, you won't have the rust come through. He used my advice and 30 years later, the shelving is as good as new.
By Elaine S. from Near Cedar Rapids, IA
Share on ThriftyFunThis page contains the following solutions. Have something to add? Please share your solution!
To clean brass, silver, and copper, mix 1 teaspoon tartaric acid with 5 pints of warm water and a few drops of dish soap. Stir till tartaric acid dissolves. Use plastic gloves to protect your hands.
Do you have metal that needs cleaning, brass boxes, hair clips, ear rings? Try wiping it down with rubbing alcohol.
Ask a QuestionHere are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community or ask a new question.
How do you take the sticky stuff from tape off metal?
By Jared
I use hand sanitizer to remove sticky tape residue from a surface. Place a dab of the hand sanitizer onto the sticky residue. Let stand about 5-8 minutes. To remove; scrub with a coarse cloth or if it is on a surface that can tolerate a scouring pad, use the scouring pad to remove it.
Soften with a hair dryer then rub with fingers.
Use "Goo Gone". It works great and a bottle will last forever! There are many other uses for it also.
I have not tried this but a friend told me about this site see what you think. You have a great find. Good Luck!
OK. Those are weird!
from watching antiques roadshow and others like it they always say leave the antique as it is. if you must get them cleaned i would take them to a reputable antique dealer and ask them.
iNTERESTING, but creepy.
Call a museum and talk to the curator. I'm sure he'll refer you if he cannot answer your questions.
I think they're really a neat peice of history.
Those ARE some scary looking gloves! What about using a dab of some 3 in 1 oil and rubbing it in with a soft cloth?
My mum has given me a silver coloured metal lamp shade, but unfortunately she is a heavy smoker hence it has stains on it. I don't want to immerse it in water as it would go rusty. Any ideas?
I have metal tins that contain solvent based inks and metallic flakes. I want to clean and reuse these tins. Any ideas?
By Michael from Cape Town
You can use them to keep nails, screws, thumb tacks, craft supplies, etc. in. If you can't find a use for them for yourself then donate them to a retirement home or a school for the folk to make craft projects.
Clean them with the solvent for them. Depending on what the solvent is, that could be water, paint thinner etc.
Try nail polish remover also, as that is a common solvent.
I have a conveyor that uses a metal type screen to carry pastries and sugar has burnt on it. I have tried using a HEAVY degreaser and a type of steel pad which tore my hand up, is there an easier method? Like boiling or soaking? Even with the pad it took a lot of elbow grease.
If the screen can be removed and placed in a large plastic garbage bag, add about 1/2 cup of amonia and seal tightly. Leave overnight. The next day, burnt on food/sugar can be virtually rinsed away -- a bit of scrubbing or rubbing, but nothing like the elbow grease that might otherwise be required.
Isn't there a way you could spray Oven Cleaner on it and let it work for about six hours before rinsing If it's aluminum metal, I'd leave it on only for about ten minutes, but if stainless steel, I'd leave it on 3-6 hours, checking one edge often to see if it's lifting? Use plenty of newspaper beneath and cover/mask any plastic it might drift to. Use in good ventiliation only. That should clean it. Good luck. God bless you. : )
I live in a fairly old apartment, but love my little home sweet home. I am trying to figure out how to clean the front of the heater in my bathroom. It is one of those built in the wall heaters. I have noticed that there are four screws in the front that could probably be taken out. It is chrome, or at least I think it is, and really corroded. Does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks in advance.
Take it off, clean it well with a degreaser, dry, spray paint it silver (or whatever other color you would like it to be), and put it back on. I did this for a lady I clean for. Hers was a flat brown and I used flat brown camoflage paint that we had laying around.
Suzi - Thanks for the idea with the degreaser. The one I have is not painted. I think it is just the chrome. What kind of degreaser do you recommend?
