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Brass under water without oxidization

I would like to Know what kind of brass if any can be left under water at all times? I made a copper cover in a fountain that has brass trim around it (note this trim is a brass coated aluminum). It is oxidizing. Is there a special type of brass available that can be under water at all times?

Thank you,

Tim Dale Schoon
- Tracy, California, USA
2002

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Copper is easy to be oxidized which is its nature, if you wanna scout for the "Copper" with the advantage of not being oxidized into rust, I am afraid it's not realistic. Coz the molecular determined its nature. So, the ideal and advisable ways are the following means: plating a kind of coating which is good resisting to the oxidation, or do some jobs at the water like adding some corrosion inhibitor, purify the water etc.

Benlogo G.B. Huang
- Guangzhou, China
2002

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Both copper and brass can react with water. Brass is much more interesting because it is a mixture of copper and zinc. Under certain circumstances the zinc can be dissolved out of the brass to leave a dull copper coloured representation of the original brass part. This corrosion process is called "dezincification" and has been known for at least 40 years. The mechanism by which it goes depends on the composition of the brass and the water, but not all brasses go in all waters. If you want corrosion resistant brass, I would ask your local plumbing supply shop what they recommend. Similarly, copper will oxidise in water to form a layer of copper oxide/hydroxide. To prevent discolouration of both brass and copper, why not coat the parts in a good clear lacquer or varnish?

Trevor Crichton
R&D practical scientist
Chesham, Bucks, UK
2003

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Not sure about this... how about titanium plated stainless steel? Be glad to supply you with a sample for a test. Available in gold, brass and copper tone.

Michael Liu Taylor
specialty stainless steel distributor - Dallas, Texas
2003

Michael, I trust you mean vapor deposited titanium compound since to the best of my knowledge there is no known commercial way to plate titanium on anything. I know, picky picky, but there is a significant difference.

James Watts
- Navarre, Florida
2003

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2003

re: "Both copper and brass can react with water". Brass is much more interesting because it is a mixture of copper and zinc. Under certain circumstances the zinc can be dissolved out of the brass to leave a dull copper coloured representation of the original brass part. This corrosion process is called "dezincification" and has been known for at least 40 years." It is really interesting to know this fact which is a part of metal finishing technique. I would really appreciate if Mr Trevor Crichton could enlighten me about the process details.
Thanks in advance.
Nilesh

Nilesh Gupta
- New York, NY, U.S.A.