I’m going to throw up my own big, red warning flag before you continue. The technique described below should only be attempted as a last resort. If you aren’t familiar with vintage ornaments, do not try to clean them. Your best bet is to leave them be. No matter how much experience you have, you will ruin several ornaments before perfecting this cleaning process. It has taken me 5 years of trial and error to get this down and make it successful.

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Many of us have welcomed vintage ornaments into our home that have scars from spray snow, smears of tree sap, and layers of grimy film from years of cigarette smoke. And those are just a few problems. But what can you do? You can’t clean without ruining them, right? Wrong! If you follow a few simple instructions, you can be on your way to restoring those marred ornaments to their former glory.

Qualifying Your Ornaments
Not every ornament is a candidate for this cleaning procedure. Do not attempt to clean ornaments with:

• cracks in the painted surface
• lots of hand painted details
• significant areas of mica/glitter
• hardened areas of tree sap

By choosing the right ornaments, you will up your success rate exponentially.

You Cannot Clean….
Not every surface on an ornament can be restored. Do not attempt to clean:

• mica/glittered areas
• hand painted details
• stencils
• painted bands/stripes

Despite the fact that these areas are more vulnerable to severe damage, its been my experience that the dirt sticks regardless. It just doesn’t want to budge. Save your time, and avoid the risk.

Supply List
Have these items by your side before you start:

• Box of Q-tips
• Soft paper cloth - not a paper towel! Most are too abrasive and will scratch the ornament’s surface. Try an automotive shop cloth instead.

Yep, that’s it!

• Do yourself a favor and pick a “beyond help” ornament to practice on. You risk a broken heart otherwise.
• Most of the cleanable area of an ornament will be the base color portion. So start there.
• Take a dry, clean Q-tip and gently rub it across the surface of the ornament. Many times, this will be all that is needed to bring the sparkle back.

But many other times, it will take more.

• Get a new Q-tip and place it in your mouth for a second or two to moisten it slightly. You cannot use water. Nor can you use any other type of liquid. It may sound gross, but if you want a clean ornament, just do it!
• You should only feel a trace of dampness on the Q-tip. If its more than that, kiss the colored finish of your ornament goodbye!
• Take the moistened Q-tip and gently rub the area to be cleaned. Check the tip constantly for color transfer. If there’s only a bit, you can proceed with caution, but if its more, abandon your mission and pick a new ornament.
• Use your shop cloth to periodically buff out the smears. (You’ll see)

• This may seem obvious, but do not ever put the same Q-tip in your mouth twice. Many times it looks like the black death hitched a ride on the end of it, and you don’t want that in your body.
• Change your Q-tip often. It will get very dirty, very quickly, and you’ll just be smearing the muck around before you know it.
• In cases of spray snow disasters. Its relatively easy to remove the bulk of the white gunk. But many times it will leave behind a ghost imprint on the surface of the ornament. Leave this alone. More often than not, you’ll take the ornament’s color off before you can get rid of them.