One of the many advantages of engraved brass office signs is that they give your company a sophisticated and professional look. Moreover, they are some of the easiest to design and install since all you need are fasteners. However, it is common for dirt, grime, and other debris to accumulate in the grooves and lines on engraved brass signs. If you do not take the time to clean them out, the signs will quickly lose their aesthetic appeal. Therefore, regular cleaning is imperative if you want your engraved brass signs to maintain a shiny and attractive sheen. This article highlights tips on for cleaning brass signs.   

Make Sure the Material is Brass -- A common mistake companies make when buying and installing engraved brass signs is the failure to confirm whether the material is real brass. Some signs might look like pure brass when, in reality, they are just brass plated, and this affects your choice of cleaning materials. One way you can find this out is by using a magnet that you hold onto the sign. If the magnet sticks, it is proof that the sign is not brass. On the other hand, if the magnet falls, then you likely have a pure brass sign. Therefore, you can go ahead and clean your engraved brass sign without worrying about corrosion issues. 

Use Earbuds to Clean the Grooves -- As mentioned earlier, engraved brass signs attract debris which settles inside the grooves and etches that make up the characters. When left unchecked, the debris changes the look on the signs. Some people use a piece of cloth and soapy water to wipe off the face of the place, then roll the same cloth to try and get the dirt out of the grooves. However, this is a wrong approach because some of the grooves are thin and deep; hence, challenging to reach. Instead of forcing a rolled piece of cloth into the engraved grooves, use earbuds because they are small enough to fit inside the grooves without much fuss. Moreover, since earbuds have white cotton-ball tips, it is easy to tell when a particular groove is clean.   

Avoid Harsh Chemicals -- Although brass engraved signs are designed to last, you are bound to strip their natural shine if you use harsh chemicals. However, most people believe that harsh detergents are the only way to clean such industrial-looking signs. Nothing could be further from the truth because a spoonful of dishwashing soap is enough to do the trick. Dip a piece of cloth or an earbud into the solution, and make sure it soaks up a good quantity of the cleaning solution. First, clean the grooves thoroughly before cleaning the entire surface of the sign. If you leave the grooves for last, you will be forced to do another round of cleaning. This is because the dirt from the grooves will smudge on the already cleaned flat surfaces of the engraved sign. Therefore, make sure you start with the grooves before moving to the un-engraved areas.

To learn more about engraved signs, consult a resource in your area.