some cleaning products and a lot of elbow grease

I found this brass candle stand in the burned house last week. I don't know how I found it, or how it (kindof) survived. It looked REALLY bad. Totally black and gross. There is no way that a little rubbing would make this look like it should go inside any one's house. But, I decided to try to mess with it before giving up and buying paint.
I took the top part off and scrubbed that with brass polish. I used brillo pads, magic erasers and scrubbed forever. Dave put tinfoil in the sink, filled it with water and added a bunch of salt and soaked it for hours, hoping to make a dent in the burn. (It was waaaayyyy beyond just wiping off soot)

I scrubbed, and scrubbed and scrubbed for a few days. Then I used polish, and lots of elbow grease, and a few hours today. I can't believe how shiny and yellow this came out! I might even put it in my new house someday! Wow! I am amazed that this survived!!!!