Cleaning brass without stripping it

Original hardware is worth keeping. Replacement pulls almost never match the screw centres, and a sideboard wearing new handles loses the one detail that dated it.

Before any cleaner comes out, work out whether the metal is solid brass or brass plate. A magnet answers it: brass is not magnetic, so if the magnet sticks you are looking at plated steel and aggressive polishing will cut straight through the plating to a grey layer underneath. On plated hardware, stop at soapy water and a soft cloth.

Taking it off first

Unscrew the hardware and lay it out in order on a sheet of paper, drawing round each piece and writing the drawer number beside it. Pulls wear into their own positions and swapping two of them is a small annoyance you will notice for years. Cleaning off the furniture also keeps every cleaner away from the finish.

Gentle first, and usually enough

Warm water, a drop of washing-up liquid and an old toothbrush lift most of what is actually dirt. Dry every piece immediately and completely, including the screw holes, because water trapped in a recess will bloom into corrosion within days.

If the brass is solid and still dull, a mild acid does the rest. Half a lemon with a little salt, or a paste of bicarbonate and vinegar, will brighten solid brass in under a minute of rubbing. Rinse thoroughly afterwards and dry it, because any acid left on the surface keeps working.

Leave the recesses dark

The dark tone sitting in the corners of a cast pull is what makes the casting readable. Polishing a pull to a uniform mirror flattens it and makes fifty year old hardware look like a reproduction. Brighten the raised faces that hands touch, leave the hollows alone, and finish with a thin coat of paste wax so the shine lasts a year instead of a month.