The Detecting Hub

Hi all. I found this umbonate brooch yesterday whilst out detecting with a local and was wondering how people would go about trying to clean it up a bit. Obviously there's some enamel panels that I don't want to damage but there is a fair bit of hard soil stuck to it in places. So, what are people's views as to how I should proceed or would it be recommended to leave as is? It would be nice to be able to see the colours a little better. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thank you

Just a dry brush.

Needs a wash, there's still dirt on it!

Lovely brooch, with all the enamel still intact.
You`ll find the colours are most vibrant when damp and will fade back when dry.
Given an Umbonate as a present, by the finder couple of weeks ago. Did the light brush and also some damp clean but hardly any dirt left to remove.
Cheers,
Dave.

Get the dirt out of the cells with a cocktail stick or similar .

Let it soak in distilled water for 24 hours and then a soft brush to remove the dirt. Once fully dry, a coat of 5% or 10% Arteseal will bring out the detail and colours.

That's a beauty

Be careful it can be very dangerous to soak an enamelled one in water - it can be ok but it can just as easily cause irreversible damage. Trust me I found out the hard way

As suggested it’s best to keep it as dry as possible with a gentle brush or, preferably, a slow removal of the dirt with a cocktail stick.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions, I think once I get it back from the FLO I'll just give it a dry brush and see how that works........thanks folks

Ooo that’s a lovely example. I got one on Boxing Day that is really toasted with just one bit of enamel left.
I would be really gentle and just use distilled water and wooden toothpick. Better safe than sorry.
Thanks for sharing