How to Remove Rub ‘n Buff

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It was probably 10 years ago that there was a surge in painting old furniture to give it new life. I was all about it. When I inherited an old dresser it became my mission to change all the things about it. The orange tinted wood was painted white and the brass pulls became silver with the help of Rub ‘n Buff. Check out the dresser in its original state in this post. That Rub ‘n Buff was magical stuff to me back then. I would walk around the house just looking for something I could use it on. Years later I’m still happy that I painted the dresser white, but I was wishing those silver pulls were still their original brass color. With the help of a trusty product found under my kitchen sink I’m going to show you how to remove Rub ‘n Buff should you too have a change of heart.

There are some affiliate links used in this post, purchases made through those links will not add any additional cost to you, and I thank you for supporting my blog in this way. For additional information, please visit my disclosure.

How to remove Rub 'n Buff, Bar Keepers Friend uses

How to Remove Rub’ Buff

You’ll need Bar Keepers Friend, a scrubby sponge, and some dish gloves (these are my favorite gloves ever, I’ve had them for years). Wet the sponge, sprinkle some Bar Keepers Friend to the sponge, and work the Rub ‘n Buff off the surface. It worked really well to remove the product from the pulls and also shined up the original brass.

How to remove Rub 'n Buff, How to restore brass hardware

Drawer Pulls Before

This dresser lives in Sam’s room and works really well. Certainly nothing was wrong with the pulls being silver. The silver had just started to wear off and I kept thinking how nice it would be to have the original brass back.

vintage modern boy's room, boy's room gallery wall

Drawer Pulls After

The pulls are now all restored and I feel like they just make more sense being brass. You can see more of his room here.

boy's room antique dresser
restoring brass hardware
boy's room dresser, tall white antique dresser

Turns out this was a doodle that could be undone after all! Now that you know how to remove Rub ‘n Buff, are there any projects you’re wanting to change back?

Sources

Comments

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  1. Emily T Avatar
    Emily T

    I painted an antique gold mirror years ago with a cheap silver paint and I hate myself for it. I’m going to try this on a hidden corner on the back to see if it works 😬 It can’t get any more ruined than I’ve already done. 🤦🏻‍♀️

    1. Shelley Avatar
      Shelley

      I had an antique chandelier with the most amazing patina that I spray painted black several years ago. I’m so mad at myself!

  2. Emily T Avatar
    Emily T

    Holy moly. It’s working!!

    1. Shelley Avatar
      Shelley

      That is amazing news!! I’ll admit, I panicked a bit when you said antique gold mirror. Did it take off any of the original finish? I’m so interested to see if I can try it on my old chandelier!

  3. Cassie Bustamante Avatar

    love that dresser and i love the pulls in their original brass! and i fell victim to rub n’ buff all the things!

    1. Shelley Avatar
      Shelley

      It is an addictive drug, isn’t it?!

Meet Shelley

Hi, I’m Shelley! My belief is that with a little creativity and elbow grease, you can make your home look like a million bucks without spending it.

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