Thursday, February 24, 2011

Brown Transferware and the Great Clean Up

I wanted to share with you the brown transferware I found at the
Scott's Antique Market last weekend when it was here in Columbus.
 


I purchased this lovely set of "Athol" Mellor Taylor & Co. dishes
for only $30.  I really only wanted to purchase a piece or two for my hutch,
but the dealer obviously wanted to be rid of it so she offered a price I 
couldn't resist.  There are 6 each dinner and salad plates, 5 soup bowls,
3 saucers, a serving bowl, a beautiful butter dish and what looks like
an oversized sugar bowl.
 


Some of the pieces were rather stained with use, but she told me
how to get the stains out, so I wanted to pass along that information too.
I realize many of you may already know how to do this, but I actually heard
it from three different sources last week and this information has made
the difference between my buying and not buying vintage dinnerware.  Although I
personally do not mind some pieces  for "display only" looking old and stained, 
I don't want them to be pieces I'm going to eat off of.
Here is a "before" picture of what some of the plates looked like.
 


These very stained plates were at the bottom of the pile and I didn't see
them until I unpacked them at home :)   I don't always love surprises.  It
was time to see if this remedy really worked and I'm here to tell you it does.
You start by soaking the plates in 40% hydrogen peroxide for several days
or as long as it takes the stains to lift out of the plate.
 


I purchased a gallon of the mixture at Sally's Beauty Supply and it cost
around $10.  I also purchased a 14 x 14" plastic container with a lid from
Joann Fabrics.  I think maybe it is probably meant to hold scrapbook
paper, but I wanted it large and deep enough to hold several plates at
a time, so it served my purposes just fine.
 


After soaking the plates for several days, I take them out and scrape off
the excess solution with a spatula and set them on a disposable 
aluminum foil cookie sheet.  Be sure to wear plastic gloves when you do this!



Then I pop them in a low oven set around 220 degrees and bake them
for an hour or so.  I am told the baking pulls out the rest of the stains.
When the hydrogen peroxide has pretty much baked off, I turn off
the oven and allow the plates to cool slowly.  After bringing them to
room temperature, they are ready to wash in hot soapy water.
Here is a picture of plates that I have already done and the serving
bowl that still needs to go through the process so you can 
see the difference.
 


It will take a few weeks to put all the pieces through the solution/baking
process, but in the end, I will have a lovely set of brown transferware
that I can not just display, but also use.
Unfortunately there were no teacups to go with the saucers in this
set, but I think the saucers will look pretty in the fall holding a
candle or a pretty mini pumpkin, or even this pretty pin I made
out of tea-dyed bits and pieces of fabric and lace leftover from the
vintage eggs I made.



The dinner plate with this set is slightly smaller than the average dinner
plate, so I'm looking forward to using a larger solid plate underneath and
then stacking the plates high for interest and texture.
Look for these plates to make their debut sometime this fall when
they are all cleaned up and ready to "strut their stuff".



Linking with
Common Ground for Vintage Inspiration Friday 
~
Frou Frou Decor for Fabulous Friday Finds
~
Southern In My Heart for Inspiration Friday
~
French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday



 
 

23 comments:

A Brit in Tennessee said...

They are just gorgeous !
I have never heard of this method to remove the plate stains, you certainly did a fine job of removing them.
Here's to many years of enjoyment.
~Jo

Crystal Rose Cottage said...

Hi Cindy....Thanks for stopping by yesterday! Whenever I see brown transferware, I think of you! I love all of dishes that you bought and thanks for so much on the info getting the brown stains out! I never knew that...it's nice to know it now! Have a good evening!~Hugs, Patti

Olive said...

The china is beautiful. I saved this page si I can refer back to this method. Thanks bunches for showing this. ♥O

Anonymous said...

Cindy thank you for telling me about this trick! I have passed up lots of dishes because of the staining and never realized there was a way to remove it!!

Spent all day at the hospital today with a friend who had surgery. There is something about hospitals that just drain me! Glad to be home by the roaring fire as it has turned cold here again!


bee blessed
mary

Natasha in Oz said...

That is quite incredible. I have never heard of this before but am so appreciative that you have shared this great idea. Thank you!

Best wishes always,
Natasha.

La Vie Quotidienne said...

Just beautiful what a wonderful find. Thanks for sharing the information about removing the stains...very helpful.(-: Enjoy your new dishes.

Jacqueline~Cabin and Cottage said...

This pattern is so very beautiful! Good to know what works.

LindyLouMac said...

Impressive that they are cleaning up, when you have had enough of this set just ship them my way:)

Karen said...

What invaluable information! Thank you!!
I love your dishes.
I'll be back.
Karen
Ladybug Creek

Anonymous said...

Beautiful! And that's an interesting way to get rid of the stains.

Gloria said...

What a beautiful treasure these are! You did a great job on removing the stains. Thanks for the wonderful tip on how to do that.

Thank you for visiting my blog and becoming my newest follower...:)

I am following your very lovely blog. I hope you have a great weekend!

XOXO Gloria

p.s. my younger sister just moved to Worthington, Ohio!! She sews too!

Alana in Canada said...

Those are very pretty. Great tutorial for cleaning them up, too. Thanks for stopping by my blog. (The daffodils and plates! The back said they are made by "Nikko" in Japan.) Have a great weekend.

Jeanne said...

Great info on the clean-up, I have heard this before but never written down the chemicals, or tried it. I am bookmarking this post!

Brenda Pruitt said...

What a great deal! They're so beautiful!
Brenda

At The Picket Fence said...

Wow! I have never heard of that method for removing stains from dishes like that but I'm so glad you shared it with us! They look gorgeous and new and we are so glad you linked this up to Inspiration Friday!
Vanessa

Debra@CommonGround said...

I'm so glad to hear about this clean up process, it really works! Your dishes are so gorgeous, just love the simplicity of them. Can't wait to see them this fall. Thanks for linking up for the party,
hugs,
Debra

Tracy F. said...

Thanks for the helpful info. I love your pink and green plates. My favorite color combination!

Sue said...

I still want a plate, Cindy! I like my sweet little blue and white cup/pitcher that I bought from her. Unfortunately I had to glue it- seems there was a hairline crack that just collapsed when I washed it. Told ya the oven baking made all the difference... It just pulls out the stain.

La said...

Wow! This process works beautifully. I didn't get to see the set on Saturday, but they are very pretty. This was a great buy.

Pam Kessler said...

Great deal on the plates. I've tried the salon hydrogen peroxide before, but didn't do the oven step. It worked OK, but I still had some brown stuff left, so that must have been my problem. Thanks for the tip.

Courtney ~ French Country Cottage said...

Such a fantastic timely post on cleaning the china!! :) Thank you for linking this up! - what a great set of china and they are soo pretty all cleaned up! Thanks for the tips and for sharing at Feathered Nest Friday! :)

Susan Nowell @ My Place to Yours said...

Thanks for stopping by today and mentioning this post. I had missed it. Such a nice set of brown transferware - and it's cleaning up nicely! I'd heard of this method but never tried it. Glad to see it really works! Will look forward to seeing these beauties "strut their stuff" next Fall!

Kathleen said...

They are beautiful! And thanks for the info on removing the stains. We don't have any good thrift shops out here. An hour away there is a Savers. I won't hesitate to buy stained plates now that you told me how to remove the stains!

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