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  for Metal Finishing since 1989
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Cleaning years of gunk off cupboard handles

My cupboard handles are, I think, copper but are coated with years of grease, grime and dirt. Can I soak them in anything to help get the gook off more easily than scrubbing with a soap filled pad and then polish them? Thanks! There are 30 to do . . .

Judy Hunt
homeowner - Goldsboro, North Carolina
2005

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The "I think" part is the major hurdle, Judy. It is often impractical for a consumer to know what such items really are made of, and many proposed solutions are selective for a particular kind of dirt on a particular finish on a particular substrate. It's possible that an answer that would be good for one kind of construction could destroy an item of a different material. I would take one and boil it in water and dish detergent, rinse it, sit it in a solution of vinegar ⇦in bulk on eBay or Amazon [affil links] and salt for a while before polishing. Then I'd decide whether to treat the other 29 the same way or replace the one I ruined, if I did :-)

Good luck.

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
2005

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Or if you need something stronger, oven cleaner ⇦this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] .

Jeffrey Holmes, CEF
Spartanburg, South Carolina
2005

Take a magnet to them, if they stick they are steel, if no they are something else.

Marc Banks
- Elizabeth City, North Carolina
2005