removing tarnish from copper irons

[RandyBobbitt]

Just came across an old beryllium copper sand wedge in the closet, most likely from the 1970s. Looks good except for a few green spots on the back, which I assume are tarnish. How can I remove those spots without damaging the finish? I want to preserve the dark copper rather than turning it shiny. Thanks.

[dbuck]

That is a bit of a trick there. Both the brown and the green are varying stages of oxidation.

Mothers Mag and Wheel polish is my go to, but it will make it shiny copper. Not to worry, though because it will re-tarnish in short order--like a few days or weeks. Actually, it starts re-tarnishing as soon as you stop rubbing. It is kinda like the difference in a good haircut and a bad one--about 2 weeks.

I think though, if you put a dab of Mothers on a rag and rubbed very lightly, you could probably get the green off without all of the brown.

Me, I would just use the Mothers and clean as much as I wanted, then leave it alone and the patina will return.

The process with Mothers is similar to waxing a car; put a bit on a rag and rub, then buff with a clean rag.