INPUT ARTICLE: Article: In order to fight off the gummy, sticky stains, you'll need something that cuts grease. You can use store-bought products like Goo-Gone, Dr. Bronner's, or Simple Green, or you can make your own.  For strong stains, use 1 cup vinegar mixed with 4 cups water. Let the vinegar solution sit on the stain for a few minutes before wiping. You can add 1-2 tablespoons of ammonia for even more powerful cleaning. For smaller, gentler stains, mix 3 tablespoons baking soda with 1 cup water. These surfaces are much more prone to staining and warping if you're not careful. Some cleaners can strip away sealants, coatings, and paints if you're not careful. Always read the label for suggested surfaces to clean with. When in doubt, dab a bit of cleaning solution on a small area and check back 10 minutes later. If it is not stained or warped, you should be good to go. Some cleaners to consider include:  Murphy's Oil Soap Dr. Bronner's Barkeep's Friend Warm water and 1-2 tablespoons trisodium phosphate Depending on the stain you can use different abrasives to remove the stain, from gentle sponges on walls to blades on glass and hard plastic. Don't dig into the stain. Simply work at the edges, trying to lift it from the surface, to prevent scratching.  For walls, use the rough side of a sponge, or another gentle scrubber. For unpainted metal, a toothbrush or other hearty brush will work wonders. For painted metal, you need to use a gentle towel or microfiber cloth. Use the sharp side of a razor blade to scrape away the gummy residue from glass and plastic. With the blade at a roughly 45-degree angle to the surface, scrape away the loosened nicotine residue. If you're working on glass, use a glass cleaner like Windex to remove the last little bits of residue and wipe the surface clean. Otherwise, a few drops of dish soap and warm water should be fine. For serious stains, repeat the process, letting your degreaser soak into the stain for an extra 5-6 minutes. If the same stain has been building up for years, leading to a yellow, brownish tint to your items, they may never return to their original color. You can make improvements with gentle scrubbing and cleaning, but it may be time to repaint the walls or get newer objects if you can't fight off the yellow tinge.

SUMMARY: Spray the stain with a gentle degreaser. Test your cleaning supplies in an unseen area before using on wood, enamel, or paint. Use an abrasive sponge or brush to remove the stain. Wipe clean with soap and water. Know that long developing stains may not come off at all.


INPUT ARTICLE: Article: Some bathtubs are not freestanding fixtures and are housed within a painted housing. If your bathtub is set within a wood or plaster housing, use painters tape to tape off the edges of the tub to prevent the new bathtub reglazing from getting on anything other than the tub itself. If your bathtub is free standing, you can skip this step. Everything that’s staying in your bathtub that isn’t the bathtub itself needs to be covered before you start the refinishing process. Make sure the shower head, any exposed plumbing, bath nozzle and anything else you don’t want refinished is covered in plastic. Once you cover things in plastic, use painters tape to secure the plastic in place. The walls of the shower should be covered if they’re not a part of the tub itself. You can hang masking paper or loose plastic from the wall using painters tape to secure it in place. If the shower walls are a part of the bathtub, you may want to refinish them along with the tub, rather than taping them off. Iron tubs need a bonding agent to help the new finish seal in place. Some bonding agents can be painted on while others need to be sprayed on. Follow the directions on the agent you purchase closely for good results.  You can buy bonding agents for iron tubs at your local hardware store. Be sure the bonding agent is completely dry before applying the new finish. Reglazer, or finish, is like a thick paint that you’ll apply to the tub to serve as its new surface. Some tub glazes come in self contained cans for you to spray on, while others are meant to be mixed and applied using rollers or paint brushes. If yours needs to be mixed, follow the directions on the package closely to ensure the mixture comes out right.  Different finishes require different approaches, so it’s best to follow the instructions on your label. You will need to purchase “reglazer” or a bathtub “finish” that’s made specifically for bathtubs. You can usually find it at your local hardware store.

SUMMARY: Tape off the edges of the tub with masking tape. Wrap the spout, handles and anything else that’s not the tub in plastic. Use paper or plastic to cover the walls of the shower. Apply a bonding agent to the surface of the tub if it’s made of iron. Mix some reglazer per its instructions.


INPUT ARTICLE: Article: Choose a container large enough for your aluminum pieces to fit inside and be completely submerged. Sprinkle a few tablespoons of an oxygen-based cleaner (like Oxi-Clean, Clorox Oxygen Action, All Oxi-Active, or Shout Oxy Powder) in the bottom of the container.  You can make your own oxygen cleaner by combining 1 part sodium percarbonate (dry, powdered hydrogen peroxide) and 1 part sodium carbonate (washing soda or soda ash).  Take care not to confuse either of those powders with sodium bicarbonate (baking soda). If you’d like your aluminum to have patterns in the aging, you can create them with aluminum foil. Crumple up several pieces of aluminum foil and place them in the bottom of the container, on top of the oxygen-based cleaner. Press them flat into the bottom of the container. Add a few more tablespoons of oxygen-based cleaner on top of the aluminum foil. You can put templates, gears, or other items on top of the aluminum that will prevent the covered sections from being aged, if you’d like to make designs or shapes on your aluminum. Several tablespoons should suffice. Spread the cleaner evenly over the metal and try to avoid building up piles of the powder on top of the aluminum. In order to keep your aluminum pieces from floating in the water, place a heavy object on top of them. You can use another piece of metal like a weight or a gear, or even a wrapped stack of dinner plates. Pour cold water in the container until the entire piece of aluminum is submerged. Add up to ½ inch (1.3 cm) of water over the top of the aluminum to ensure it is completely covered. Carefully tip your container a little bit to one side and then the other in order to get the oxygen-based cleaner to flow. If the container is too heavy for you to move, gently agitate the mixture with a long spoon. Swirl the mixture to get the powder to flow through the water. The oxygen bubbles produced by the cleaner are what cause the oxidation of the aluminum and make it change colors. Though you may begin to notice the aluminum changing color after four hours, for best results you should leave the aluminum to soak for at least 24 hours. You can leave it for up to two days if you desire a deeper color change. Take the aluminum piece out of the water. Use a razor blade or the edge of a plastic card (like a hotel room key or credit card) to remove any heavy crusts of oxygen-based cleaner left on the aluminum. Mix 1 tablespoon (14.8 ml) of distilled white vinegar with each cup of water. Pour the mixture over the aluminum or soak the aluminum in the mixture for a few minutes. Then rinse the aluminum with plain water. Set the aluminum in a dish drainer to dry, if the piece is small enough, or prop it against a hard surface to dry if the piece is large. This aging process creates flowing gray tones in the aluminum.

SUMMARY:
Sprinkle oxygen-based cleaner in the bottom of a container. Place crumpled aluminum foil in the container to create patterns. Lay your aluminum pieces on top of the aluminum foil. Sprinkle more oxygen-based cleaner on top of the aluminum pieces. Place something heavy on top of the aluminum. Pour cold water in the container. Tip the container gently to get the cleaner to flow. Add another few tablespoons of oxygen-based cleaner to the water. Allow the aluminum to soak for at least 24 hours. Remove the aluminum from the water. Rinse the aluminum with water and vinegar. Allow the aluminum to dry.