What type of metal will you need to polish?
There are some metal polishing cloths in the market designed to polish jewelry, and those are usually unnecessarily small and expensive to polish barware at home. The type of polishing cloth you’ll need will depend on the materials you’ll need to polish. Since most items for home bars are made using stainless steel, copper or glass; microfiber polishing cloths are an excellent option to consider.
What will be the size of the mugs or glasses you’ll need to polish?
Buying a metal polishing cloth that is too small is one of the most common mistakes made by home bartenders (based on my personal opinion, of course!) Unless you only plan to polish small copper shots, it is important that you get a large enough polishing cloth. Having worked as a bartender for several years during a previous stage of my life, I can tell you using a polishing cloth that’s at least 20 inches tall by 20 inches wide is an excellent choice. In my opinion, the best size is a cloth that’s 20 by 24 inches because they’re large enough to polish metal bar tools and glassware without having to touch them with your left hand (if you’re right-handed) which will help you avoid leaving fingerprints or smudges as you polish. You merely hold them in one hand with one end of the cloth while you polish with the other end.
Will you need to Polish Copper Mugs or Stainless Steel?
Polishing metal is not the same as polishing wine glasses. That’s why getting dark stains on the cloth is one of the most common problems bartenders face when they try to use white or cream wine polishing cloths to polish copper mugs or stainless steel cups. The best metal polishing cloths on the market are black. When I worked as a bartender I learned that white colored wine glass polishing towels often look bad over time as they can stain from repeated use. If you want to avoid feeling embarrassed when you polish mugs in front of people for fear they’ll think you’re polishing glasses with a dirty rag then I suggest you get black microfiber polishing cloths.
Would you like to be able to throw your polishing cloth in the washing machine?
Not all polishing cloths are created equal. Some of them are so delicate they need to be washed by hand to make sure they don’t come in contact with other lint producing items or get deteriorated by the strain produced by modern washing machines. However, there are many polishing cloths in the market designed to withstand washing machine cycles without a problem. Using a wash bag for your cleaning cloths is a little known “ninja bartender trick” you can use to keep your cleaning cloths in top shape and prevent lint from other garments from ending up all over your fine microfiber polishing cloth which in turn might cause lint to end up on your mugs, tools or glasses when you polish them.
As a home bar enthusiast now, I still encountered the same issues as I did when I worked in the bar industry so I decided to create the solution I wish I had but couldn’t find for myself and my friends. I created a kit of 2 high-quality black microfiber wine polishing cloths with a wash bag. Each one of our Large Microfiber Wine Polishing Cloths measures 20 inches long by 24 inches broad to keep your hands away from previously polished surfaces. They're made to be simple to use and glide smoothly over your metallic barware (or glassware) leaving no lint, dust, scratches, streaks, fingerprints, residue, or water spots behind.
These black polishing rags are tough and can be used to polish stainless steel or copper. They may also be used on all of your wine glasses, decanters, home bar accessories, wine equipment, barware and steel utensils. They're so gentle that you can even use them to wipe your reading glasses!
What are the directions for washing these lint-free microfiber cleaning cloths in the washing machine?
To avoid undesired lint from transferring to your barware, place your microfiber bartender towels in the included cleaning bag and toss them in the washing machine on a warm cycle with no bleach or fabric softener. And that's it! Tumble dry on low heat and you're done!
You can learn more about our kit of black microfiber polishing cloths over here: Microfiber polishing cloths
What about you? Have you had any experience using metal polishing cloths? How did it go? Let us know in the comments section so we can all be part of the conversation. Also, if you enjoyed this article, please share this article on Pinterest or Facebook. It would really help us spread the word. Thank you very much!