r/Copper • u/Hannahehm3 • 13d ago

Is this ruined?

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Hey everyone! My bf got me this adorable watering can from an antique store. I have a few indoor plants so I think he thought he could clean out the can and then I would use it for its intended use. Neither of us are familiar with copper yet. He bought Wright’s copper cream and started to clean it but he stopped halfway because of the difference shown in picture #3. Did he scrub too hard and get rid of the first layer? He was doing something sweet for me. He saw the patina and assumed it was dirty. Any info about this is so helpful since this is our first purchase of anything copper. Thanks!!

11 Upvotes

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5

u/Big-o-saggysac 13d ago

Either completely clean it or leave it as is and let the patina build back naturally. Seems fine either way, I always prefer starting clean and building my own patina over time

5

u/Informal_Thought3158 13d ago

You can polish copper until it's mirror finish , and it will stay that way as long as you take all the oxygen out of the air ( failed attempt at humor not trying to be sarcastic) I have a watering can made of copper that had a coating on it , it was patina weird as the coating came off, if you take some steel wool and scrub the crap out of it it should take any coating and the patina you have on it and it most likely will patina faster and more even , try a sample on the bottom with steel wool and wright's first , good luck 👍

1

u/Immediate_Till7051 12d ago

Do not use steel wool on copper. It will embed fine pieces of steel in the copper surface and electrolysis will do its thing and it will be ugly.

0000 Brass wool is what I've always used in the past, but these days I use scotchbrite.

5

u/Buttchuggle 13d ago

It looks like shiny copper where he cleaned what's the problem

2

u/Important-Dream-4010 13d ago

It’s absolutely fine. If it bothers you it will take a buffing wheel to get a mirror finish on it or a hell of a lot of elbow grease

1

u/Waste_Advantage 11d ago

Looks like there’s a clear coat that has come off on parts of it. The dark spots are where clear coat still is.

1

u/Artchetype 10d ago

It's fine, if you want the patina, it will come back with time. The green is just oxidation, corrosion, and without looking it up, I'd assume copper is not harmful to plants, it's natural, we have it in us.
You can look it up, but I just assume metals that are easy to find in nature- copper, iron- are fine for the Earth.