Letter #779g

Stripping brass from white metal cabinet handles

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The cabinet handles in our kitchen are made of a white nonmagnetic metal plated with what is apparently brass. I want to strip off the brass plating, then polish and clearcoat to have white metal handles. What chemical can I use to strip off the brass plating? Sandpaper works but is very slow and I have a lot of them. Thanks very much for any advice.

Mike M [name deleted for privacy due to age of posting]
- San Francisco, California

If you're going to polish anyway, Mike, it may be easiest to sandblast the brass plating off. Chemically removing brass (which is an alloy of zinc and copper) from zinc would be a little problematical in an industrial environment, perhaps best done with an ammoniacal stripper, and is probably prohibitive in a residential environment. Good luck.

Ted Mooney, P.E.  finishing.com Brick, New Jersey