CLEANING MY SHINY BRITE ORNAMENTS. I don't want to ruin them.

[elkline50]

I bought a box of old Shiny Brite ornaments and some other glass orn. They are so dirty. Is there a safe way to clean them? I did a board search and couldn't find any specifics. I tried a moist paper towel on a broken piece and it took off the snow AND the paint. Can you please help me?

[twoweeksam]

If you decide to do a test list, I would be interested to see how your auction ended, if the added protection hurt or helped.

[twoweeksam]

I did a search last November on this same subject, I read to use spit to shine them. I don't know if this suggestion  worked, I was to afraid to try it, has anyone heard about this technique? Does anyone know if this actually works?

[sapperssgkelley]

I will very lightly dab Q Tips on my tongue and clean ornaments. Sometimes I will slightly dampen a soft paper towel and very gently wipe them looking at the towel each wipe to see if color is coming off. 

I use my ornaments and don't worry about their value to others as much as their value to me, so I am not shy about restoring the glitter and snow. I use very fine glitter and watered down Elmer's glue and a fine paint brush. It can make old ornaments look like new again. 

[sapperssgkelley]

One last thing I want to mention. I wear thin cotton gloves when I remove my ornaments to protect them from my body oils and to dust them at the same time. 

[208dchatt]

I have had good luck cleaning and removing flocking overspray from vintage ornaments using Old English Lemon Oil polish.  It cleans well and gives a nice shine.

[mmar43055]

You can buy old Shiney Brite caps on EBay!

[bnl2002]

My exact thought as well!!!

[mmar43055]

Ive done the same technique to restore the mica glitter except I add a bit of white tempera or latex paint to the Elmers glue. For a bit of an antiqued look you can add some very fine, burnished gold glitter to the plain mica. It gives the appearance of age, but has the shiney glitter effect. I also use Qtip swabs and a soft make up brush to clean them before restoring. Im thinking of testing permanent markers to touch up knicks of paint. Thats next!

[heavenly_handmade1]

Try baking soda and lemon jiuce mixture rub softly with this solution your stuff will shine like new.

Regards

[heavenly_handmade1]

baking soda n lemon juice mixture will do wonder.

[jame234]

I use no solution.  I use a feather duster and dust them off carefully not dusting the snow off.

[idealvintage4u]

Those with cardboard hangers are super duper rare! They were made during WWII. 

[miavoce9]

They made the cardboard hangers during WW II due to rationing. Keep those!!! That's how you know it is WW II era ornaments

[blazinhotdeals]

Great idea to redecorate them. Mica fade just disappears when touched. Mine are oldies. 

[past_perfect_1]

Pledge works! Not full restoration or anything but better than a brush alone and the protective coating is probably not a bad thing. (Please can anyone tell me why NOT to do this? Thx.)

I spray a very small amount, spread around lightly for even coating, wait a few minutes (to homogenize with as much dirt as possible so I won't repeat the process, as any "touching" is a risk for damage to me)... then wipe with a very soft cloth. For Shiny Brite and things with glitter/glue designs I basically use a Q-tip to apply to the more intricate areas then again to remove, because I try to avoid the designs as I am not chemically minded enough to know what oil/wax might do to glue over years (but so far so good! just careful.) Finally when I have wiped up the dirt and it is just slightly oily I wrap the whole thing in a paper towel for a while to draw away any remaining product.

Please give comments-- been doing this every few years and no negative effects... but I'd like to hear from people with restoring backgrounds. Thx!