Letter 13120

Antiquing brass hardware 

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I would like to know how to refinish new brass hardware to look old and antiqued. - Thank You.

Karen F [last name removed due to age of posting; we can't post replies lacking full name & town]
- Inglewood, CA

A very beautiful finish can be obtained by first cleaning the brass of any protective lacquer is completely removed. This is accomplished by soaking the brass in lacquer thinner [link is to product info at Amazon] overnight and a thorough cleaning with a old tooth brush, warm water and soap. Extra fine steel wool can also be used. Now comes the fun part. Depending on the size of the brass part, place in a jar several ounces of household ammonia along with a scrap piece of copper. No scraps? No problem. Buy a cheap 1/2" copper fitting at the hardware store for less than a $1.00. Than place some kind of spacer above the ammonia in the jar and copper. A small inverted waxed paper or plastic cup will work well. This is just to keep the brass item out of the ammonia liquid. It's the fumes that do the antiquing. Put the top on the jar and almost immediately you'll see the oxidation start to take place. You'll get beautiful blue and green hues. The process will take a couple of minutes to a couple of days depending on the effect you want. Usually a couple of hours is plenty. Remove the brass, rinse and dry, then buff out with jewelers rouge . Have fun. Let me know about your results.

A. Brooks B [last name removed due to age of posting; we can't post replies lacking full name & town]
- Manchester, VT, USA

I was wondering if there were any other, "easy to obtain" oxides to change the color of metal. I know of ammonia for copper. I am working on a jewelry project and would like to add some chemical changes to the metal. Thanks

Jill s [last name removed due to age of posting; we can't post replies lacking full name & town]
student - New York , New York, USA

For darkening of brass or copper you can use liver of sulphur. It's strong and potentially toxic, so use with care.

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

Big project; I need some advice. How would I approach the project of antiquing a new brass bed that has a non-tarnish layer of poly on it from the factory? The style of the bed is turn of the century, but the bright finish detracts from the appearance.

Molly Keenan
Consumer - North Kingstown, RI

This advise has been really helpful so far. I do have a few follow up questions however.

First, can you apply these techniques to modern brass hardware? Are these solid brass?

Secondly, are there any processes that I can use for an electrical fixture that I dont want to completely disassemble?

Thanks,

John Thornbloom
- Denver, CO, USA

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