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

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?
Message 1 of 62
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CLEANING MY SHINY BRITE ORNAMENTS. I don't want to ruin them.

I can understand why someone would want to add a protective coating to these. The paint is just not durable and are scratched so easily. I have found a lot that have quite a bit of scratches especially if they were hung on natural pine trees.

I just got a grab bag of ornaments today which had a couple of Polish indent ornaments. The designs painted on these were also pretty delicate.

Now that I think about it, it probably makes sense to protect the vintage ones you have by adding the coating. Choosing the right one would be important - wouldn't want a plastic coating that would yellow over time.

Would be interested to hear if others coat their ornaments and what they use. Maybe if more collectors do this, then it will be acceptable.
Message 16 of 62
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CLEANING MY SHINY BRITE ORNAMENTS. I don't want to ruin them.

I would worry about the yellowing in the future. Almost any polyurethane could be disastrous if it turns yellow. 10 years from now we could all be saying "what were we thinking?"
Message 17 of 62
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CLEANING MY SHINY BRITE ORNAMENTS. I don't want to ruin them.

You are right - that thought came to me as I was typing it - I have seen the poly coatings yellow when they were only a couple of months old. I am sure some of the more expensive glass ornaments must be coated.
Message 18 of 62
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CLEANING MY SHINY BRITE ORNAMENTS. I don't want to ruin them.

Regarding sprays, anything that starts with Poly will usually yellow with age, sunlight and heat. For a clear finish that "should" last use an acrylic spray. I have not used this on my Shiny Brite ornaments but on other things that I want the true color to show through, especially on white.
Message 19 of 62
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CLEANING MY SHINY BRITE ORNAMENTS. I don't want to ruin them.

Hello!,
I also do a similar technique:)..believe it or not, I just use any soft cloth, and buff em like shoes:)..they are as sturdy as an egg, hold them firmly and rub to a great shine just over the mica ones and glitter go around the area:)..I havent damaged any to date and it shines them up nicely:)..I just sold alot of shiny brite that shined nicely..have a great day!..or evening:)
Message 20 of 62
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CLEANING MY SHINY BRITE ORNAMENTS. I don't want to ruin them.

I have found that using a BOUNCE fabric sheet does a pretty good job of shining up ornaments. It also adds a light layer of protection.


raggedy*me
😛
Message 21 of 62
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CLEANING MY SHINY BRITE ORNAMENTS. I don't want to ruin them.

I am not sure I would use a bounce sheet for that purpose.

I think that dryer sheets typically contain a petroleum product, and I don't know about the long stability of that.
Message 22 of 62
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CLEANING MY SHINY BRITE ORNAMENTS. I don't want to ruin them.

anoli8
Enthusiast
Maybe a microfiber cloth would work.
Message 23 of 62
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CLEANING MY SHINY BRITE ORNAMENTS. I don't want to ruin them.

austinrocks4me
Enthusiast
I may have gotten this idea from reading this thread, but I'm not sure. Someone mentioned Goo Be Gone for cleaning ornaments, and I started thinking about using something more gentle than that. I went through my bathroom cabinet and found some very light body oil made by Neutragena which I applied to a broken ornament with a very soft cloth. It worked great on a plain painted ball! I wiped off all the oil which cleaned the 1967 ornaments beautifully, but I haven't tried it on my more expensive ornaments. I have one Polish one that is damaged that I may eventually try out, so I'll let you know. I don't know why this would hurt if it is all wiped off, but since I don't know for sure, I've only tried it on one set of 25 ornaments. They still look great! The scary part was trying to hang on to them while cleaning the oil. That's a little tricky. The oil and cleaning cloth took off the gritty feeling and some of the cloudiness.
Message 24 of 62
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CLEANING MY SHINY BRITE ORNAMENTS. I don't want to ruin them.

I'll wait for the follow-up report. Sounds promising, but how do you get all the oil off?

For ornament safety, perhaps you could sit on a bed for this chore.
Message 25 of 62
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CLEANING MY SHINY BRITE ORNAMENTS. I don't want to ruin them.

austinrocks4me
Enthusiast
Thanks for the tip. I didn't think about sitting on the bed. I just cleaned them for a long time with a dry soft cloth. They came almost squeaky clean and seem to have no oily residue. These are only the glass balls. The same glass balls that lost paint when I tried to clean one with a damp cloth. Oops! The oil didn't take the paint off but water did. Isn't that weird?
Message 26 of 62
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CLEANING MY SHINY BRITE ORNAMENTS. I don't want to ruin them.

I've had success just wrapping each ornament in paper toweling or tissue, place them in a zip lock, lay in a box, and store in a very warm place, such as an outbuilding. BY next year, the grim is basically gone and the ornaments are fine!
Message 27 of 62
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CLEANING MY SHINY BRITE ORNAMENTS. I don't want to ruin them.

That's an intersting tip - I'll have to try it. I have quite a few that have some sort of stuff on the surface.

Joyce
Message 28 of 62
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CLEANING MY SHINY BRITE ORNAMENTS. I don't want to ruin them.

luvtobid0_2
Enthusiast
tips:

When I hang Christmas ornaments, I do not touch them with my hands because body oils can discolor them with repeated touching. I use a soft kleenex tissue to hold them and remove them.

I also avoid room sprays in area of ornaments as the spray can cause damage as well.

And if I have lights on my tree, I hang the old, cheapo bulbs next to them as the heat from them cause damage.
Message 29 of 62
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CLEANING MY SHINY BRITE ORNAMENTS. I don't want to ruin them.

Here's a tip from a retired chemist. I also learned the hard way about using anything water based to clean old Shiny Brite ornaments. The handpainted detail is often water based paint and will come off instantly with typical cleansers. HOWEVER, mineral spirits are petroleum distillates and have no ability to dissolve water paints. Nor should they affect gelatin based adhesives used for snow. I have sucessfully used mineral spirits (also known as odorless paint thinner) to clean shiny brights somewhat. They will remove oily based soils and films like cigarette and household smoke, or tree resins. Mineral Spirits don't correct all soiling problems but are worth a try if you have soiled ornaments. Be sure to test your ornament with just a dipped cotton swab first. BTW, someone mentioned Bounce sheets. Makes sense. Bounce fabric softener is a fat based carbon compound impregnated onto sheets...not water based. I would think it would be safe as a cleanser, although the nonwoven sheet is quite coarse. I would carefully wipe off excess with a tissue. Otherwise, the greasy residue may attract and hold dust.
Message 30 of 62
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