Mr. Tran Thanh Tien (Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City) earns millions of dong every day on this occasion from polishing bronze urns.
“I have been with this profession for more than 20 years. This is the busiest time, my income is also ten times higher than normal days”, Mr. Tien shared.
On the occasion of Tet, every day he receives more than 10 sets of bronze urns for beauty purposes. Since mid-December, the 63-year-old craftsman has been polishing dozens of clients.
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After receiving the goods and checking the quantity, the worker must remove each part and clean it. The copper pot is soaked in vinegar or star fruit juice and left for about a day to clean the dirt, then put into the rotating motor to grind it to shine. To prevent oxidation and keep the copper pot more durable, workers often wipe it with tapioca starch or tapioca starch and wipe it with a clean cloth.
The copper pot is polished by a motor to remove tarnish. Workers must be skillful, meticulous, because just a little carelessness can cause scratches, deformation, uneven brightness. The copper urns with many patterns and textures are more difficult to beat, of course, the wages are also more expensive. Every stage needs experience and its own know-how for the copper urn to be durable.
Each set of polished bronze urns costs from 200,000 VND to 350,000 VND, depending on the size and pattern. With fine art bronze products, users have to send them back to the manufacturer to be able to renew. As for the traditional copper urn, guests can handle it themselves or hire workers.
After polishing the outer layer of oxidation, the burners will be evenly powdered on the surface, leave for a few minutes and rinse with warm water, the copper burner will be shiny like new.
Many of the guests who come here are regular customers of the shop, having been with them for more than 10 years. Someone who had just brought the item to him could have guessed its price.
Mr. Khanh (Binh Thanh district), a regular customer, said that he comes here to clean the urn once a year. “Because I see Mr. Tien meticulously beautifying, I have been with this shop for so long,” Mr. Khanh shared.
This profession mainly works at the time of Tet. Hand-cast urns, household appliances, and bronze worshiping objects after a period of use will be oxidized, the surface layer will turn dark black, so many families have a need to renew them during Tet.