Over time solid brass will darken and take on a golden brown patina due in part to the natural oils from your dog’s or cat’s coat. While we love the look of a well-worn tag, sometimes we want the shine of freshly polished brass.
For a light cleaning, all you need is a soft cleaning cloth and some soapy water. Wipe down the surface with the cloth and rinse with soapy warm water. Dry thoroughly before reattaching the tag to your pet’s collar.
Another way to clean your tag naturally is to use ketchup! This works great for dirtier tags, with the acid from the ketchup helping to gently remove the tarnish and dirt from the brass. To demonstrate the process we’ll use Bacon’s tag (though we are a bit sad to remove the tarnish collected over years of wear).
All you need is a small bowl or plastic yogurt container and about 1 Tbsp of ketchup. Rub the ketchup all over the tag and let it sit for 2 hours (or longer if your tag is really dirty). Rinse with soapy warm water and pat dry.
Voila! Your tag is now bright and shiny.
Here is Bacon’s tag before and after. I love how it still looks rugged and not super polished. If you prefer not to wait and want a perfectly shiny tag we recommend following the step-by-step tutorial for how to use our polishing kit. 