To all at cupscon, Could someone tell me what's the best polish for cups Thanks,mel

Mel… There is a lot to choose from out there, Flitz is good that is what RNT2 uses, BRASO (I have had good luck with that), Wright’s Copper Cream (easy to us to clean a Cup, but needs to be followed up with a wax to shine), McGuire’s Aluminum Mag Polish (I have had good results with it). I have found that if you want the Cups to really shine that after a polishing to clean them up, a wax is a good follow-up. Products like Renaissance Wax or car waxes work well.

Good luck, I always find polishing Cups very therapeutic… it works out the frustrations of life. If there are Cups that you like to keep shinny, you might have to keep doing follow-up treatments.

Bruce

I think Bruce pretty much has it covered there Mel but obviously it depends what the cups are made from (they could be wood!) and if they have a patina you wish to remove etc.

Good old salt and vinegar can be used to strip back a patina before polishing.

Bri

Bri… Sorry I forgot to list the vinegar and salt method, I have also used it with great results.

Mel… Bri has demo videos of the process on his great website cupsandballsmagic.com.

Bruce

Bruce,Bri,Thankyou both for your help :)I wish the both of you and all in the cupscom family, a joyous holiday weekend! thanks again,mel

Mel… Happy holiday to you too, I hope your polishing goes well.

Bruce

The best polish depends on the equipment you have available. If you want to hand polish your cups, then Flitz, Simichrome, Nev-R-Dull, Brasso and the products from Wright's are good on brass and copper. For silver, Hagerty's, Wrights silver polish or Goddard's are good. For aluminum, use Simichrome or Flitz.

Keep your aluminum cups away from salt water.

However, if you want to polish your cups mechanically, you can do this with a set of buffing wheels and some graduated metal polishes.

Here's the rub, so to speak. If you are not aware of the types of polishes to use on a buffing wheel, chances are you shouldn't try to learn this skill on your prized cups. A buffing wheel can do a very fast job, but it can also hog away a lot of metal at once. It can also yank a cup out of your hand and throw it at you.

So, hand polishing is the way to go, IMHO.

Happy Holiday to all of you -- to those of us in the US -- Happy Independence Day!

For those of us in the UK -- Happy Thanksgiving!

Bill,
         Thanks for the advice on cup polishing and the well wishes Have a great holiday,
                                                                                                                            mel

You are most welcome!

I use Flitz for most everything metal, but it's getting darned expensive!! I use to buy it at a SEARS affiliate called Orchard Supply Hardware. It was usually $6.00 a tube. They don't carry it anymore so I have to get it online and the price has doubled in the last 2 years. If only my retirement check had doubled too!!!

I use my cups almost daily, so keeping them brightly polished would be a daily chore. I like the well used patinated look anyway, so I'm just letting them go until they get nice and dark. Then I'll wax them.

Waxing is good if the cups are where you want them to be, patina-wise. Renaissance brand is pretty much the standard. It's a high-dollar item too, but a can lasts for years for metal polishing. If you use it on wood, it's great, but some things will almost suck up a can of the stuff. Well, not really, but something like a good sized table , piano , or organ,  will eat up a can of Renaissance wax quickly. I know it can cover a lot of square inches, but some square inches are thirstier than others.


dsalley13