Hi. I bought a brass suit valet that was used. It seems to be tarnished and rusted/corroded, especially the tray that held coins. I tried some silver polish, steel wool, salt and lemon juice, but nothing seems to get the rust or the tarnish off! Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

Just from what you have described, it sounds like it needs to be buffed out by a machine. One of the things that I do for a living is that I refinish furniture and brass.

How large is this object, please?

Okay. I can see that you are now offline. Hopefully, we will be online at the same time sometime. There are some things that need to be determined here in order to help you the best.

How large is the valet?

Is it solid brass or plated?

If it is large and if it is solid brass, then can it be disassembled so that it can be buffed out more efficiently?

Are there any areas that appear to be scratched, pitted or even chipped?

Would you be able to post an image of it in this thread?

Hi. Thanks for helping me out. It's about 3.5-4' tall, and can be disassembled into pieces. I've posted a picture of one of the pieces so you can get an idea of the damage. It seems some areas are rusted or chipped. I think it's solid brass-i did the "magnet test" and the magnet didn't stick. I'm hoping there's an inexpensive fix--i don't really want to invest money into it! Thanks for any advice you can give!

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Just so you know, I am online now.

Now, please keep in mind that we are operating off images here where it's not possible to see everything as clearly as we would like to.

How many inches across is that plate or tray that is in the image?

If it rusts, it isn't brass. That is why the Navy uses brass so much. Have you tried Brasso and good ol' elbow grease?

Certain liquids can damage and discolor brass to the extent that it gives the appearance of being rusted even though it is not. If the piece has a clear coat of some kind, such as lacquer, then using Brasso will do no good.

The image that you have posted looks like there is some kind of clear coat finish on it and that the damage is in the finish and not the actual brass. You could try stripping that off with a paste furniture finish remover and then buffing it out with buffing pads that are attached to a bench grinder and then applying a clear coat of some kind like Deft Lacquer. What I do with brass, depending on the condition of it, is that I remove the clear coat finishes with a brass wire brush that is on a motor that is spinning at 1750 R.P.M. Then I use my cotton buffing pads that are attached to a bench grinder that is revolving at 3500 R.P.M. I first rough buff with one wheel to get out the major imperfections. Then I do a final buff with another wheel to create a completely smooth an flawless finish. Sometimes in order to get out small dents and scratches, I will lightly sand by hand using the appropriate grit of abrasive paper to remove the small dents and scratches before going through the wire brushing and buffing out process.

Because it appears that there is some kind of clear coat finish on the metal, I am sure that something like Brasso or another brass cleaning liquid is not going to do any good.

As you can see, the process to restore the brass can be extensive. It doesn't take a lot of time and really isn't all that hard to do though, if you have the proper equipment.

If you don't have the proper equipment and are reluctant to take a project like this on, then there are furniture refinishers and also piano technicians who get into the refinishing of brass objects.