Wow guys, I had a nice patina coming along on the street devils and when I bought them Gary suggested  to give them a little polish on the high spots to give them a good look with the patina so today I tried giving them a little polish and never realized how strong the polish was so I used a bit much at the start and wow, got super shiny cups now.  Once I had done that to the first I had to carry on with the rest. Even though I really wanted a patina look (which I will soon) I am liking the new look. So after the polish starts to fade away I want to actually let it get a good patina look, so what would you guys say about polishing them up but still keeping the dark patina look?? 

Thanks guys

Mike… I go through so many phases with my Cups… some I keep polished some I let go. I have changed my mind on a bunch of Cups and have let them change brown. I have a set of Charlie Miller Cups that have a very rich patina that I have used Renaissance Wax on; bri turned me on to this stuff, it is fantastic. I polished the CM Cups and now the patina has some depth to them and a semi gloss, I think they look fantastic.
It is interesting how Cups made by different spinners turn so many shades of brown… some look like coffee and cream; others just look old and a few get a rosy brown color.

Good luck with your Cups,
Bruce

Sounds like what I want  So how would you recommend I go about that? Thanks Bruce

Mike

Mike,
Any "polishing" that you do that involves rubbing runs the risk of removing the patina you worked so hard to obtain. My best results have been to either polish the cup as bright and shiny as I can, and let the patina develop (naturally or artificially) and then seal it with something like Renaissance Wax. From there on it's about keeping the waxed surface maintained without rubbing so hard that it disturbs the patina underneath.

My darkest, glossiest set are the Charlie Millers as seen in our header graphic. They're now in the capable hands of Rannie Raimundo. It must have to do with the alloy used for the Millers vs. what's used today. None of my other cups ever developed this light creamy chocolate look.

Mike… I have posted my method for encouraging a patina quickly before on this site, but it is hard to find things here (IMHO). I will share them again.

The type of copper and original finish to a Cup makes a big difference to how the patina will finally look and how fast it will turn. Satin finishes turn quicker then a highly polished Cup.

1st make sure the Cup is completely clean of wax, I recommend stripping the wax with some paint thinner, then cleaning it with Dawn brand dish washing detergent. Make sure the Cup is rinsed well of all soap. Next you need to remove any existing patina; Bri has posted on his website a cleaning method that uses salt and vinegar, I have used it with good luck. Another good method is to use Wrights Copper Cream.

Now that the Cup is completely clean (here is the crazy part), handle the Cups throughout the day and rub them through your hair. At night put them in your nightshirt against your skin and sleep with them. After a day or so you will see the Cups starting to turn… about every other day, give them a quick wash with Dawn soap, rinse and dry them well. This will give the Cups a more even patina rather then clusters of fingerprints and spots.

Keep this process up for about a month or so and you should see some good results. The darker brown that you want them the longer you must keep this up. Once they are to a state you want, you can then give them a coat of Renaissance Wax.

The more you handle them the quicker the process. Depending on the copper, you might find the Cups turning caramel brown or a rosy brown color.

Good Luck,
Bruce

Wow thanks a lot Bruce! Really appreciate it! Hopefully I can get the good look I want! 

Thanks again
Mike