How To Clean & Polish Antique Bronze with David Harper 

It’s a pleasure to watch you work. Your passion for the medium is clear. Thank you for sharing.

Thanks David😊👍 We absolutely love your videos👍 So helpful and fun at the same time😎😎🙏👍

Beautiful statue. Thanks David!

Thank you David I have a similar mini version of this so going to get going with your technique

love detail to the brons cleaning

Great tip David and video, thank you for sharing 😀 👍 😊 🙏 appreciate it 👍 😀

Wow great job simple but it works thanks David

Nice one David, interesting vid as always sir, like that t-shirt 👌

Thanks for this David. Now I know what to do with my bronzes …if I had any.. nice job

I don’t normally like angels or cupids but that is a really nice piece and I would display that

Thanks for that David. I wonder if you will agree with a solution I had to invent. myself. High up on my house under a canopy I have a bronze bell cast by Newcombe in 1550 all part of a clock-tower Every time people in the past had painted under the canopy they had dropped dribbles of paint onto the bell Problem, how to remove the paint without affecting the patina. Nobody I spoke to could give me an answer. I could not use chemicals or scrub it so my solution was to chip it off. I needed something harder than the paint and softer than the bronze. So I used a 2p coin which had been flattened into a long cigar shape about 7 inches long and very thin and bendy. Worked a treat although it took hours. Followed that by soap and water to remove the bird shit and dirt and then gave it a good wax. Don't shout at me I used Traffic Wax because it is so durable and had a better chance in keeping the elements at bay. Tim

please don't worry about the dates getting it right - I am the same and it is refreshing then to be told about them - and a beautiful brons

David, thanks for the lesson. fazio

Dear David Harper, is that your artwork on that shirt? Nice bronze! Thank you for yet another cool video about antiques! Hi from Colorado!

Thank you David👍---mine has some tiny dots of white paint (probably the previous owner was doing some renovation and didn't cover it up...), how can I get rid of them without damaging the surface? Thanks🙏

Great video David. Is just chlorinated tap water ok or distilled or rainwater maybe better?

I was taught to brush the dust and grit before you wipe the work down that way you don't cause any micro damage to the surface as the dust and grit can act as an abrasive.

hi david, would you also do this with spelter ?

Marvellous video. Now to get some beeswax.

Great video. Can u tell me what kind of cloth u used? Is it a jewelry cloth? Also, any beeswax in a jar is good, and do I need carnauba mix or either wax is ok?

Thank you for this encouraging video! I recently purchased a Hartmann bronze crucifix and the entire corpus with halo appears to be gilded. There is a very little pitting evident along the thighs and some green in the lines inside the nimbus. Do you recommend clear besswax on these parts? I wiped it off with dry cotton balls and q-tips, followed by water diluted dishwashing liquid on more cotton balls, then wiped down with warm water-only dampened cotton balls. It feels a little dicey adding the wax, since the body is mounted to a mahogany wood cross. Is there any brand of wax in the US you can recommend for this piece? That will be gentle on the gilding, plus not leaving white lines in the wood grain? Thank you again! I'd almost resigned myself to living with grimey layers on it, but not anymore! (edited for spelling)

David, I have a few original French Art Deco spelter figures. There is no loss or damage but the colour/patina is dull, no shine or depth. Can this method be used on spelters or do you have a method for those? Thanks Alan.

What a wonderful video thank you for sharing it. I do have a question I hope you could answer- I’ve found a beautiful antique Japanese bronze dragon that I would like to purchase unfortunately I’ve spotted what appears to be bronze disease in its tail. Is there a cure for this or should I stay clear?

Hello thanks for the video. Is mink oil okay to use? Or specifically what is the brand name of the proper wax to use? Thanks for your help 🤘🏽

Thanks David, I am always afraid that I would overclean an item. Would like to know how you made the wax as I have access to wax from a bee hive

Hi. I just recently purchased a 6 foot bronze statue and it has some white deposits in a few areas that are hard. Looks like calcium deposits. What's the best way to remove it safely? Thanks!

Can you clean with steamer?

Interesting you use clear wax? I was always taught clear wax can leave an opaque sheen on the surface so don't use it. The advice I was given was always to use black wax on metal.

would those static clothes do the trick as well

When you're done with this sculpture..he he he....please send it to me first. :)

David, thank you very much. I have an antique bronze religious medal. Can I purchase some wax from you? I've followed your technique for cleaning it. Now I just have to wax it. Thank you, David

Do you know of a cleaner that is commercial available since I don't have access to yours? Can I just use plain beeswax?

Hi David, can I use Daddy Van's All Natural Unscented Beeswax Furniture Polish? the ingredients are: Beeswax, Carnauba, and olive oil. Thank so much!

If you're an old dealer/collector, you clean old rhinestone jewelry with an old soft toothbrush.(like bronze, rhinestones do NOT like getting wet; it kills the paint on the back.) Get a new one for your teeth and use the old one to get uck out of tiny spots. An old paintbrush that's gone wonky are more likely in David's house. A wire brush on a bronze....ARGGGH! I have a small bronze hippo sitting here, not old at all, painted purple. I kid you not - that's how the artist made it. Too funny to leave behind.

Good morning. I was given some very beautiful, bronze Holocaust medals years ago. They need to be cleaned; but I'm terrified of doing them damage. Could you please tell me if this method will work on them, the type of cloth to use, and the brand of wax? Lastly, how do I safely store them? I appreciate your help😊! Myra Kathryn

If it was made in the 19th or 20th century then it's not antique, is it?

Can I send you some pictures of a statue they want me to clean? I would love to hear your advice.

Use deionised water

I mean micro ones - who have long hairs loops

Fake bronze....

Thanks for wasting my time!