Letter 26107

Restoring a black & copper "japanned" antique finish

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I am in the process of restoring the original electric hardware and fixtures in our 1904 farmhouse. The original finish of the items is a "japanned" finish, for a lack of a better term..they appear to be a dark lacquer with swaths of copper on them. The finish has worn off or corroded from a number of pieces and I am trying to find out how to restore this effect on the items that have lost it...any help is appreciated. Thank you!

Clifton Haggard
home restoration/hobbyist - Austin, Texas, USA

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I hope I am not too late in responding to your inquiry. Your description of the finish is almost correct ("japanned" is absolutely the correct technical/historic description). Your fixtures are most likely brass (possibly steel but not likely) and the surfaces have been copper plated. Typically the brass will have been polished prior to plating. The dark color you mention is actually what we refer to as a "patina". This is typically some form of copper sulfate. There are a number of companies making a variety of formulas that will produce very different colors on brass and copper. The only lacquer on the fixtures would have been a glossy clear which may have yellowed over the years.

Refinishing is not a simple matter. Once the fixtures have been disassembled a best case scenario would go like this:

1)chemically remove the lacquer - no abrasives, we do not want to harm the copper plating.
2)remove the patina by carefully polish the parts - we want to achieve a clean copper look with out exposing the brass below the plating.
3)re-patina the parts to get a solid consistent color.
4)re-create the "japanned" finish by removing portions of the patina by polishing in random patterns like the original.
5)give a second mild patina to tone the polished copper down just slightly - we want a consistent "aged" look not a new penny look.
6)re-lacquer all of the parts. This will slow/stop the copper from oxidizing further.
7)re-wire and assemble the fixtures.
8)I highly recommend testing the fixture for continuity and shorts before re-installing. Ideally this is done with a "hi-pot" tester and by a company that is familiar with UL standards. We don't want your house burning down due to an electrical fire.

JR Vanderburg
Custom Period Lighting Manufacture - Portland, OR, USA

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I have a 1908 house that has some of the same finish on some of the original hinges. I have wanted to figure out how to re-create that look also. I used to think that finish was called japanned, but now, after some research, I think japanned is the flat black, baked-on finish that a lot of hardware from that era, and earlier, had. The tiger-striped copper/black, I believe, was known as Antique Copper. I saw a box of original hinges on Ebay with that finish -->
and the box said Antique Copper. I also have a reprint of a 1910 Sears builder's catalog and they have lots of hardware in both Japanned and Antique Copper, although you can't see any difference in the catalog drawings. Have you tried to recreate that finish yet?

Dan Axton
- Houston, Texas

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Dan, Sorry for not seeing your post sooner. I hope you found a source for refinishing your house hardware. If not, I would think that an older plating company in your area could come close to re-creating the finish. As for doing it yourself...I personally would not attempt it. I know of a company in the Portland OR. area that does a Japanned finish (and yes it was called antique copper by some companies) but I am sure there are local companies that can provide this finish for you. I would check with some of the older but smaller plating or metal polishing companies in your area. If they can't do it they might know of someone that can.
Good luck on your house. JR

JR Vanderburg
- Portland, OR, USA

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I hadn't really given much thought to finding a local plater but that would be ideal. It's such a lovely look, to me at least, I guess it just went out of style and never came back. I appreciate the advice. Take care and best of luck in your business.

Dan Axton
- Houston, Texas

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Thanks for your help. I have just seen the reply but wanted to clarify that these are steel pieces and I ended up restored them by simply cleaning them...taking them apart, spraying them with Scrubbing Bubbles bathroom cleaner (mild cleaner without abrasives) and wiping down with a sponge, then cleaned off the cleaner in water (I did not rinse the sockets just dusted and sprayed with compressed air).After letting the parts dry completely. I closely inspected the sockets and switches for ANY damage and repaired or replaced them, then completely rewired and reassembled the fixture. At this point I masked off the socket's openings, hung the fixture from a support and sprayed it with 2 coats of a high quality clear gloss lacquer.
The small surface rust spots and scratches are part of the character of the piece and when lacquered, the fixture cleans up and they blend in nicely into the patina. If you want something perfect this is not the route to take, but if you just want to clean up and make your pieces presentable this has worked very well on 90% of the pieces in the house...sometimes the finish is just to gone to try to keep and more drastic measures($) would have to be used.
Remember I am a Non Professional repairing my own home on a budget....

BTW...I found this Japanned finish to be very delicate and could be destroyed/removed if any abrasives were used. I have been to many architectural shops where they just cleaned it off thinking it was a brass piece that had just become dirty, but I really do enjoy the random drawing like qualities that I think would be lost if someone tried to redo this finish today...it seems to almost be a lost art.
You can buy a couple of hinges or parts with this finish at most salvage places that you can practice on (which is what I did) In Houston, Atkins is a great place to look...Good Luck!

Clifton Haggard
- Austin, Texas

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