20 drops of ammonia, immerse the piece to be cleaned repeatedly in
this, and brush with a soft brush. Treat the article with pure water,
then with alcohol, and wipe with a soft rag.
II.—Boil common alum in soft, pure water, and immerse the article in
the solution, or rub the spot with it, and dry with sawdust.
III.—For cleaning picture frames, {204} moldings, and, in fact, all
kinds of gilded work, the best medium is liquor potassæ, diluted with
about 5 volumes of water. Dilute alcohol is also excellent. Methylated
wood spirit, if the odor is not objectionable, answers admirably.
«To Scale Cast Iron.»—To remove the scale from cast iron use a solution
of 1 part vitriol and 2 parts water; after mixing, apply to the scale
with a cloth rolled in the form of a brush, using enough to wet the
surface well. After 8 or 10 hours wash off with water, when the hard,
scaly surface will be completely removed.
«Cleaning Funnels and Measures.»—Funnels and measures used for
measuring varnishes, oils, etc., may be cleaned by soaking them in
a strong solution of lye or pearlash. Another mixture for the same
purpose consists of pearlash with quicklime in aqueous solution. The
measures are allowed to soak in the solution for a short time, when
the resinous matter of the paint or varnish is easily removed. A thin
coating of petroleum lubricating oils may be removed, it is said, by
the use of naphtha or petroleum benzine.
«To Clean Aluminum.»—I.—Aluminum articles are very hard to clean so
they will have a bright, new appearance. This is especially the case
with the matted or frosted pieces. To restore the pieces to brilliancy
place them for some time in water that has been slightly acidulated
with sulphuric acid.
II.—Wash the aluminum with coal-oil, gasoline or benzine, then put it
in a concentrated solution of caustic potash, and after washing it with
plenty of water, dip it in the bath composed of 2/3 nitric acid and
1/3 water. Next, subject it to a bath of concentrated nitric acid,
and finally to a mixture of rum and olive oil. To render aluminum
capable of being worked like pure copper, 2/3 of oil of turpentine
and 1/3 stearic acid are used. For polishing by hand, take a solution
of 30 parts of borax and 1,000 parts of water, to which a few drops of
spirits of ammonia have been added.
«How to Clean Tarnished Silver.»—I.—If the articles are only slightly
tarnished, mix 3 parts of best washed and purified chalk and 1 part of
white soap, adding water, till a thin paste is formed, which should
be rubbed on the silver with a dry brush, till the articles are quite
bright. As a substitute, whiting, mixed with caustic ammonia to form a
paste, may be used. This mixture is very effective, but it irritates
the eyes and nose.
II.—An efficacious preparation is obtained by mixing beech-wood ashes,
2 parts; Venetian soap, 4/100 part; cooking salt, 2 parts; rain
water, 8 parts. Brush the silver with this lye, using a somewhat stiff
brush.
III.—A solution of crystallized potassium permanganate has been
recommended.
IV.—A grayish violet film which silverware acquires from perspiration,
can be readily removed by means of ammonia.
V.—To remove spots from silver lay it for 4 hours in soapmakers’ lye,
then throw on fine powdered gypsum, moisten the latter with vinegar
to cause it to adhere, dry near the fire, and wipe off. Next rub the
spot with dry bran. This not only causes it to disappear, but gives
extraordinary gloss to the silver.
VI.—Cleaning with the usual fine powders is attended with some
difficulty and inconvenience. An excellent result is obtained without
injury to the silver by employing a saturated solution of hyposulphite
of soda, which is put on with a brush or rag. The article is then
washed with plenty of water.
VII.—Never use soap on silverware, as it dulls the luster, giving the
article more the appearance of pewter than silver. When it wants
cleaning, rub it with a piece of soft leather and prepared chalk, made
into a paste with pure water, entirely free from grit.
«To Clean Dull Gold.»—I.—Take 80 parts, by weight, of chloride of lime,
and rub it up with gradual addition of water in a porcelain mortar
into a thin, even paste, which is put into a solution of 80 parts, by
weight, of bicarbonate of soda, and 20 parts, by weight, of salt, in
3,000 parts, by weight, of water. Shake it, and let stand a few days
before using. If the preparation is to be kept for any length of time
the bottle should be placed, well corked, in the cellar. For use, lay
the tarnished articles in a dish, pour the liquid, which has previously
been well shaken, over them so as just to cover them, and leave them
therein for a few days.
II.—Bicarbonate of soda. 31 parts
Chloride of lime 15.5 parts
Cooking salt 15 parts
Water 240 parts
Grind the chloride of lime with a little water to a thin paste, in a
porcelain vessel, and add the remaining chemicals. Wash the objects
with the aid of a soft brush with the solution, rinse several times in
water, and dry in fine sawdust. {205}
«Cleaning Bronze Objects.»—Employ powdered chicory mixed with water,
so as to obtain a paste, which is applied with a brush. After the
brushing, rinse off and dry in the sun or near a stove.
«Cleaning Gilded Bronzes.»—I.—Commence by removing the spots of grease
and wax with a little potash or soda dissolved in water. Let dry, and
apply the following mixture with a rag: Carbonate of soda, 7 parts;
whiting, 15 parts; alcohol (85°), 50 parts; water, 125 parts. When this
coating is dry pass a fine linen cloth or a piece of supple skin over
it. The hollow parts are cleaned with a brush.
II.—After removing the grease spots, let dry and pass over all the
damaged parts a pencil dipped in the following mixture: Alum, 2 parts;
nitric acid, 65; water, 250 parts. When the gilding becomes bright,
wipe, and dry in the sun or near a fire.
III.—Wash in hot water containing a little soda, dry, and pass over
the gilding a pencil soaked in a liquid made of 30 parts nitric acid,
4 parts of aluminum phosphate, and 125 parts of pure water. Dry in
sawdust.
IV.—Immerse the objects in boiling soap water, and facilitate the
action of the soap by rubbing with a soft brush; put the objects in hot
water, brush them carefully, and let them dry in the air; when they are
quite dry rub the shining parts only with an old linen cloth or a soft
leather, without touching the others.
«Stripping Gilt Articles.»—Degilding or stripping gilt articles may
be done by attaching the object to the positive pole of a battery and
immersing it in a solution composed of 1 pound of cyanide dissolved in
about 1 gallon of water. Desilvering may be effected in the same manner.
«To Clean Tarnished Zinc.»—Apply with a rag a mixture of 1 part
sulphuric acid with 12 parts of water. Rinse the zinc with clear water.
«Cleaning Pewter Articles.»—Pour hot lye of wood ashes upon the tin,
throw on sand, and rub with a hard, woolen rag, hat felt, or whisk
until all particles of dirt have been dissolved. To polish pewter
plates it is well to have the turner make similar wooden forms fitting
the plates, and to rub them clean this way. Next they are rinsed with
clean water and placed on a table with a clean linen cover on which
they are left to dry without being touched, otherwise spots will
appear. This scouring is not necessary so often if the pewter is rubbed
with wheat bran after use and cleaned perfectly. New pewter is polished
with a paste of whiting and brandy, rubbing the dishes with it until
the mass becomes dry.
«To Clean Files.»—Files which have become clogged with tin or lead are
cleaned by dipping for a few seconds into concentrated nitric acid.
To remove iron filings from the file cuts, a bath of blue vitriol is
employed. After the files have been rinsed in water they are likewise
dipped in nitric acid. File-ridges closed up by zinc are cleaned by
immersing the files in diluted sulphuric acid. Such as have become
filled with copper or brass are also treated with nitric acid, but here
the process has to be repeated several times. The files should always
be rinsed in water after the treatment, brushed with a stiff brush, and
dried in sawdust or by pouring alcohol over them, and letting it burn
off on the file.
«Scale Pan Cleaner.»—About the quickest cleaner for brass scale pans
is a solution of potassium bichromate in dilute sulphuric acid, using
about 1 part of chromate, in powder, to 3 parts of acid and 6 parts of
water. In this imbibe a cloth wrapped around a stick (to protect the
hands), and with it rub the pans. Do this at tap or hydrant, so that no
time is lost in placing the pan in running water after having rubbed
it with the acid solution. For pans not very badly soiled rubbing with
ammonia water and rinsing is sufficient.
«Tarnish on Electro-Plate Goods.»—This tarnish can be removed by
dipping the article for from 1 to 15 minutes—that is, until the tarnish
shall have been removed—in a pickle of the following composition: Rain
water 2 gallons and potassium cyanide 1/2 pound. Dissolve together,
and fill into a stone jug or jar, and close tightly. The article,
after having been immersed, must be taken out and thoroughly rinsed in
several waters, then dried with fine, clean sawdust. Tarnish on jewelry
can be speedily removed by this process; but if the cyanide is not
completely removed it will corrode the goods.
«OIL-, GREASE-, PAINT-SPOT ERADICATORS:»
«Grease- and Paint-Spot Eradicators.»—
I.—Benzol 500 parts
Benzine 500 parts
Soap, best white, shaved 5 parts
Water, warm, sufficient.
{206}
Dissolve the soap in the warm water, using from 50 to 60 parts. Mix
the benzol and benzine, and add the soap solution, a little at a
time, shaking up well after each addition. If the mixture is slow in
emulsifying, add at one time from 50 to 100 parts of warm water, and
shake violently. Set the emulsion aside for a few days, or until it
separates, then decant the superfluous water, and pour the residual
pasty mass, after stirring it up well, into suitable boxes.
II.—Soap spirit 100 parts
Ammonia solution, 10 per cent 25 parts
Acetic ether 15 parts
III.—Extract of quillaia 1 part
Borax 1 part
Ox gall, fresh 6 parts
Tallow soap 15 parts
Triturate the quillaia and borax together, incorporate the ox gall,
and, finally, add the tallow soap and mix thoroughly by kneading. The
product is a plastic mass, which may be rolled into sticks or put up
into boxes.
«Removing Oil Spots from Leather.»—To remove oil stains from leather,
dab the spot carefully with spirits of sal ammoniac, and after allowing
it to act for a while, wash with clean water. This treatment may have
to be repeated a few times, taking care, however, not to injure the
color of the leather. Sometimes the spot may be removed very simply by
spreading the place rather thickly with butter and letting this act for
a few hours. Next scrape off the butter with the point of a knife, and
rinse the stain with soap and lukewarm water.
«To Clean Linoleum.»—Rust spots and other stains can be removed from
linoleum by rubbing with steel chips.
«To Remove Putty, Grease, etc., from Plate Glass.»—To remove all
kinds of greasy materials from glass, and to leave the latter bright
and clean, use a paste made of benzine and burnt magnesia of such
consistence that when the mass is pressed between the fingers a drop of
benzine will exude. With this mixture and a wad of cotton, go over the
entire surface of the glass, rubbing it well. One rubbing is usually
sufficient. After drying, any of the substance left in the corners,
etc., is easily removed by brushing with a suitable brush. The same
preparation is very useful for cleaning mirrors and removing grease
stains from books, papers, etc.
«Removing Spots from Furniture.»—White spots on polished tables are
removed in the following manner: Coat the spot with oil and pour on a
rag a few drops of “mixtura balsamica oleosa,” which can be bought in
every drug store, and rub on the spot, which will disappear immediately.
«To Remove Spots from Drawings, etc.»—Place soapstone, fine meerschaum
shavings, amianthus, or powdered magnesia on the spot, and, if
necessary, lay on white filtering paper, saturating it with peroxide of
hydrogen. Allow this to act for a few hours, and remove the application
with a brush. If necessary, repeat the operation. In this manner black
coffee spots were removed from a valuable diagram without erasure by
knife or rubber.
«WATCHMAKERS’ AND JEWELERS’ CLEANING PREPARATIONS:»
«To Clean the Tops of Clocks in Repairing.»—Sprinkle whiting on the
top. Pour good vinegar over this and rub vigorously. Rinse in clean
water and dry slowly in the sun or at the fire. A good polish will be
obtained.
«To Clean Watch Chains.»—Gold or silver watch chains can be cleaned with
a very excellent result, no matter whether they be matt or polished,
by laying them for a few seconds in pure aqua ammonia; they are then
rinsed in alcohol, and finally shaken in clean sawdust, free from
sand. Imitation gold and plated chains are first cleaned in benzine,
then rinsed in alcohol, and afterwards shaken in dry sawdust. Ordinary
chains are first dipped in the following pickle: Pure nitric acid is
mixed with concentrated sulphuric acid in the proportion of 10 parts of
the former to 2 parts of the latter; a little table salt is added. The
chains are boiled in this mixture, then rinsed several times in water,
afterwards in alcohol, and finally dried in sawdust.
«Cleaning Brass Mountings on Clock Cases, etc.»—The brass mountings are
first cleaned of dirt by dipping them for a short time into boiling
soda lye, and next are pickled, still warm, if possible, in a mixture
consisting of nitric acid, 60 parts; sulphuric acid, 40 parts; cooking
salt, 1 part; and shining soot (lampblack), 1/2 part, whereby they
acquire a handsome golden-yellow coloring. The pickling mixture,
however, must not be employed immediately after pouring together the
acids, which causes a strong generation of heat, but should settle
for at least {207} 1 day. This makes the articles handsomer and more
uniform. After the dipping the objects are rinsed in plenty of clean
water and dried on a hot, iron plate, and at the same time warmed for
lacquering. Since the pieces would be lacquered too thick and unevenly
in pure gold varnish, this is diluted with alcohol, 1 part of gold
varnish sufficing for 10 parts of alcohol. Into this liquid dip the
mountings previously warmed and dry them again on the hot plate.
«Gilt Zinc Clocks.»—It frequently happens that clocks of gilt zinc
become covered with green spots. To remove such spots the following
process is used: Soak a small wad of cotton in alkali and rub it on the
spot. The green color will disappear at once, but the gilding being
gone, a black spot will remain. Wipe off well to remove all traces
of the alkali. To replace the gilding, put on, by means of liquid
gum arabic, a little bronze powder of the color of the gilding. The
powdered bronze is applied dry with the aid of a brush or cotton wad.
When the gilding of the clock has become black or dull from age, it
may be revived by immersion in a bath of cyanide of potassium, but
frequently it suffices to wash it with a soft brush in soap and water,
in which a little carbonate of soda has been dissolved. Brush the piece
in the lather, rinse in clean water, and dry in rather hot sawdust.
The piece should be dried well inside and outside, as moisture will
cause it to turn black.
«To Clean Gummed Up Springs.»—Dissolve caustic soda in warm water,
place the spring in the solution and leave it there for about one half
hour. Any oil still adhering may now easily be taken off with a hard
brush; next, dry the spring with a clean cloth. In this manner gummed
up parts of tower clocks, locks, etc., may be quickly and thoroughly
cleaned, and oil paint may be removed from metal or wood. The lye is
sharp, but free from danger, nor are the steel parts attacked by it.
«To Clean Soldered Watch Cases.»—Gold, silver, and other metallic watch
cases which in soldering have been exposed to heat, are laid in diluted
sulphuric acid (1 part acid to 10 to 15 parts water), to free them from
oxide. Heating the acid accelerates the cleaning process. The articles
are then well rinsed in water and dried. Gold cases are next brushed
with powdered tripoli moistened with oil, to remove the pale spots
caused by the heat and boiling, and to restore the original color.
After that they are cleaned with soap water and finally polished with
rouge. Silver cases are polished after boiling, with a scratch brush
dipped in beer.
«A Simple Way to Clean a Clock.»—Take a bit of cotton the size of a
hen’s egg, dip it in kerosene and place it on the floor of the clock,
in the corner; shut the door of the clock, and wait 3 or 4 days. The
clock will be like a new one—and if you look inside you will find
the cotton batting black with dust. The fumes of the oil loosen the
particles of dust, and they fall, thus cleaning the clock.
«To Restore the Color of a Gold or Gilt Dial.»—Dip the dial for a few
seconds in the following mixture: Half an ounce of cyanide of potassium
is dissolved in a quart of hot water, and 2 ounces of strong ammonia,
mixed with 1/2 an ounce of alcohol, are added to the solution. On
removal from this bath, the dial should immediately be immersed in warm
water, then brushed with soap, rinsed, and dried in hot boxwood dust.
Or it may simply be immersed in dilute nitric acid; but in this case
any painted figures will be destroyed.
«A Bath for Cleaning Clocks.»—In an enameled iron or terra-cotta
vessel pour 2,000 parts of water, add 50 parts of scraped Marseilles
soap, 80 to 100 parts of whiting, and a small cup of spirits of
ammonia. To hasten the process of solution, warm, but do not allow to
boil.
If the clock is very dirty or much oxidized, immerse the pieces in the
bath while warm, and as long as necessary. Take them out with a skimmer
or strainer, and pour over them some benzine, letting the liquid fall
into an empty vessel. This being decanted and bottled can be used
indefinitely for rinsing.
If the bath has too much alkali or is used when too hot, it may affect
the polish and render it dull. This may be obviated by trying different
strengths of the alkali. Pieces of blued steel are not injured by the
alkali, even when pure.
«To Remove a Figure or Name from a Dial.»—Oil of spike lavender may
be employed for erasing a letter or number. Enamel powder made into a
paste with water, oil, or turpentine is also used for this purpose.
It should be previously levigated so as to obtain several degrees
of fineness. The powder used for repolishing the surface, where an
impression has been removed, must be extremely fine. It is applied with
a piece of {208} pegwood or ivory. The best method is to employ diamond
powder. Take a little of the powder, make into a paste with fine oil,
on the end of a copper polisher the surface of which has been freshly
filed and slightly rounded. The marks will rapidly disappear when
rubbed with this. The surface is left a little dull; it may be rendered
bright by rubbing with the same powder mixed with a greater quantity of
oil, and applied with a stick of pegwood. Watchmakers will do well to
try on disused dials several degrees of fineness of the diamond powder.
«Cleaning Pearls.»—Pearls turn yellow in the course of time by
absorbing perspiration on account of being worn in the hair, at the
throat, and on the arms. There are several ways of rendering them white
again.
I.—The best process is said to be to put the pearls into a bag with
wheat bran and to heat the bag over a coal fire, with constant motion.
II.—Another method is to bring 8 parts each of well-calcined, finely
powdered lime and wood charcoal, which has been strained through a
gauze sieve, to a boil with 500 parts of pure rain water, suspend
the pearls over the steam of the boiling water until they are warmed
through, and then boil them in the liquid for 5 minutes, turning
frequently. Let them cool in the liquid, take them out, and wash off
well with clean water.
III.—Place the pearls in a piece of fine linen, throw salt on them, and
tie them up. Next rinse the tied-up pearls in lukewarm water until all
the salt has been extracted, and dry them at an ordinary temperature.
IV.—The pearls may also be boiled about 1/4 hour in cow’s milk into
which a little cheese or soap has been scraped; take them out, rinse
off in fresh water, and dry them with a clean, white cloth.
V.—Another method is to have the pearls, strung on a silk thread or
wrapped up in thin gauze, mixed in a loaf of bread of barley flour and
to have the loaf baked well in an oven, but not too brown. When cool
remove the pearls.
VI.—Hang the pearls for a couple of minutes in hot, strong, wine
vinegar or highly diluted sulphuric acid, remove, and rinse them in
water. Do not leave them too long in the acid, otherwise they will be
injured by it.
«GLASS CLEANING:»
«Cleaning Preparation for Glass with Metal Decorations.»—Mix 1,000
parts of denaturized spirit (96 per cent) with 150 parts, by weight, of
ammonia; 20 parts of acetic ether; 15 parts of ethylic ether; 200 parts
of Vienna lime; 950 parts of bolus; and 550 parts of oleine. With this
mixture both glass and metal can be quickly and thoroughly cleaned. It
is particularly recommended for show windows ornamented with metal.
«Paste for Cleaning Glass.»—
Prepared chalk 6 pounds
Powdered French chalk 1 1/2 pounds
Phosphate calcium 2 1/4 pounds
Quillaia bark 2 1/4 pounds
Carbonate ammonia 18 ounces
Rose pink 6 ounces
Mix the ingredients, in fine powder, and sift through muslin. Then mix
with soft water to the consistency of cream, and apply to the glass
by means of a soft rag or sponge; allow it to dry on, wipe off with a
cloth, and polish with chamois.
«Cleaning Optical Lenses.»—For this purpose a German contemporary
recommends vegetable pith. The medulla of rushes, elders, or sunflowers
is cut out, the pieces are dried and pasted singly alongside of one
another upon a piece of cork, whereby a brush-like apparatus is
obtained, which is passed over the surface of the lens. For very small
lenses pointed pieces of elder pith are employed. To dip dirty and
greasy lenses into oil of turpentine or ether and rub them with a linen
rag, as has been proposed, seems hazardous, because the Canada balsam
with which the lenses are cemented might dissolve.
«To Remove Glue from Glass.»—If glue has simply dried upon the glass
hot water ought to remove it. If, however, the spots are due to size
(the gelatinous wash used by painters) when dried they become very
refractory and recourse must be had to chemical means for their
removal. The commonest size being a solution of gelatin, alum, and
rosin dissolved in a solution of soda and combined with starch, hot
solutions of caustic soda or of potash may be used. If that fails
to remove them, try diluted hydrochloric, sulphuric, or any of the
stronger acids. If the spots still remain some abrasive powder (flour
of emery) must be used and the glass repolished with jewelers’ rouge
applied by means of a chamois skin. Owing to the varied nature of sizes
used the above are only suggestions.
«Cleaning Window Panes.»—Take diluted nitric acid about as strong as
strong {209} vinegar and pass it over the glass pane, leave it to act
a minute and throw on pulverized whiting, but just enough to give off
a hissing sound. Now rub both with the hand over the whole pane and
polish with a dry rag. Rinse off with clean water and a little alcohol
and polish dry and clear. Repeat the process on the other side. The
nitric acid removes all impurities which have remained on the glass at
the factory, and even with inferior panes a good appearance is obtained.
«To Clean Store Windows.»—For cleaning the large panes of glass of
store windows, and also ordinary show cases, a semiliquid paste may be
employed, made of calcined magnesia and purified benzine. The glass
should be rubbed with a cotton rag until it is brilliant.
«Cleaning Lamp Globes.»—Pour 2 spoonfuls of a slightly heated solution
of potash into the globe, moisten the whole surface with it, and rub
the stains with a fine linen rag; rinse the globe with clean water and
carefully dry it with a fine, soft cloth.