Polishing copper - tips

[davelockin]

Ok I have a beautiful copper mod that ended up with a fairly heavy patina, some people like the natural patina but having seen how good this mod looked when brought to a high shine I wanted to restore it's former glory.
After some brief internet searches I found a few tips that worked really well and required nothing more than the majority of us have in our kitchen cupboards.
So here's what you'll need:
1.Salt (ordinary table salt nothing fancy)
2.White vinegar (although brown vinegar also works)
3. Liquid soap and water
3.Soft cloth/towel (microfiber works well)

And here's what to do:

A) Mix the vinegar and salt to form a paste and rub this into each section of the mod to remove the patina, for particularly heavy discolouration you may need to repeat this stage.
B) Remove any excess salt by rinsing under hot water and then wash thoroughly in hot water and liquid soap.
C) Dry all of the components thoroughly
D) Buff to a high shine with the soft cloth.

Note. If the mod is heavily discoloured then using a standard washing up scourer (not the wire wool type) can also help but be gentle and rub in a single direction as this may leave fine marks, if unsure don't bother!

And that's all there is to it, the effects can be quite remarkable, as you can see from the mod I cleaned earlier today.