Metal finishing Q&As since 1989
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How to Clean Brass and Protect from Tarnishing
Q. I just purchased several brass items online, and photos were of normal brass that I could clean, just looked dull in photos. However, I see that several of them have one side extremely shiny, gold in appearance. Looks like a golden finish was applied to one side of the horse figure at manufacture but not the other side. Anyone come across this and how can I remove it to clean as normal brass. Thanks for your time.
Arty Turner- Emsworth UK
December 15, 2020
A. Hi. A picture is worth a thousand words, Arty. I don't know whether you mean half of one surface is shiny and the other half is dull, or the front of something is shiny but the back is dull like on a door knocker, or what. Plus, sometimes surfaces are plated, sometimes not; sometimes they're lacquered, sometimes not.
You can consider whether there is a faded lacquer of clearcut, or whether the dull area was never polished, and some other ideas, but I think good clear photos (e-mailed to mooney@finishing.com) would help us understand your situation and be able to suggest a fix :-)
Luck & Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
December 2020
⇩ Closely related postings, oldest first ⇩
Q. I am installing solid brass light fixtures on the outside of my home. Is there some coating that I can put on to prevent tarnishing?
Dan Theno- Grove City, Ohio
2002
A. Hello,
Your brass light fixtures probably already have a lacquer finish from the manufacturer. If you feel they don't, clean the brass with a lacquer thinner [on
eBay or
Amazon]. If a bunch of gunk comes off, that would be the old lacquer. Keep stripping the lacquer off and polish the brass, then wipe off any polishing compound with the lacquer thinner [on
eBay or
Amazon], get some decent exterior grade acrylic lacquer, spray, let dry and you are done. I'd wait at least a few months before doing any of this, it should be enough time to see if the brass was lacquered originally.
G. J. Nikolas &Co.,Inc.
Bellwood, Illinois
2002
Q1. I have a medium size "Brass" collection that I clean often, my question is where or what can I use to protect my brass (keep it bright) after cleaning it? Any helpful suggestions?
Norma [last name deleted for privacy by Editor]- Logan, Utah, USA
2003
Q2. Is it OK to spray lacquer on brass to keep it from tarnishing? If not, is there some other coating I could use for the same purpose?
Thanks,
- Oakland, California, USA
2003
Q3. Pat,
I am also interested in knowing if I can use a lacquer on my old brass lanterns that are on either side of my front door. Can you tell me what you have found out about this.
Thanks,
- Charleston, South Carolina
2004
Brass Lacquers
on
eBay
or
Amazon
(affil links)
A. Yes, folks, that's what brass lacquer is for. You can find out more about the technology of brass lacquers from G.J. Nikolas [a finishing.com supporting advertiser], and contact them for quantities of it.
For small quantities for home use, you can buy a spray can of brass lacquer. Good luck with it!
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
2004
Refinish exterior brass light fixtures
Q. How do I refinish outside brass light fixture before painting the exterior of my house. It was pressure washed, which may have had bleach in the mixture. I have brass light fixtures, that got dull and one has dark places on it. Is there a way to bring back the shining brass and seal it?
Katherine Miller- Johnson City, Tennessee, USA
2003
A. Hi Katherine. Brass lacquer will 'seal' it at least temporarily and is easily redone. But it's hard to say whether it's possible to get the stains out without a lot more info. Bleach attacks the zinc in brass but not the copper and it may not be possible to remove the stains short of polishing; and if it's plated brass rather than solid brass, the stains may be as deep as the plating.
Luck & Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
Q. Saw your request for information about protecting the 'shine' on brass.
I have the same problem - I build clocks and keeping the look is a problem.
I would appreciate any information that works.
Many Thanks,
- La Canada Flintridge, California
2004
A. Hi. Brass lacquer should have a long life indoors.
Luck & Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
Q. My name is Jamie and my family has a chrome plating/powder coating company. What I would like to know is what would be the best way to protect brass indoors (such as church ware) -- type of lacquer or clear coat without leaving haze or overspray, or outdoors such as for lighting fixtures.
Jamie SzymanowskiPLATING AND POWDER COATING SHOP - Toledo, Ohio, USA
2005
A. Jamie
There are alternatives available.
1) Indoors: Use a Nitrocellulose based material like Century lacquer from G.J. Nikolas [a finishing.com supporting advertiser]. It's the right way.
2) Outdoors: The brass will need Electrophoretic lacquering. This calls for in an Electrophoretic lacquering plant, and chemicals. E-Coat is the best direction to protect brass outdoors for say 3 to 4 years.
Asif Nurie [deceased]
- New Delhi, India
With deep regret we sadly advise that Asif passed away on Jan 24, 2016
Incralac
(brass lacquer with benzotriazole)
on
eBay
or
Amazon
(affil links)
A. Indoors You can use any good nitrocellulose based lacquer, outdoors only 2-component epoxy or Incralac
[on
eBay or
Amazon]
.
Good luck!
- Cerovski vrh Croatia
2005
Brass Lamps Tarnish Despite Lacquer
Q. I am in the process of cleaning and polishing brass lamps, manually (no easy task I might add).
My question to you is, if brass was coated with a lacquer or some other sealant, why does the brass tarnish. How do I prevent this?
Home owner - Louisville, Kentucky
2005
A. We appended your question to a thread that hopefully will at least partially answer it, David. You didn't say whether the lacquer failed in ten days vs. ten years though. If it failed immediately it was low quality; if after a while, brass lacquer is not permanent, but is meant to be periodically removed and replaced. Good luck.
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
2005
Multiple threads were merged: please forgive repetition, chronology errors, or disrespect towards other postings [they weren't on the same page] :-)
Tarnished Lacquered Brass Light Fixtures
Q. I am an architect working with a non-profit children's home which has dozens of lacquered brass light fixtures that have badly tarnished/discolored/pitted under the lacquer finish within the past 3 years. How can they clean/repair the brass and/or remove the lacquer? The original problem arose at the fixture assembling plant but the manufacturer will not warranty the light fixtures. The children's home wants to reuse the fixtures but many are too discolored to install. They need to strip or clean or polish the lacquered fixtures. Is there anything we can do that will not require disassembling the fixture?
Karen BurdittArchitect - Washington DC
2006
Q. I would like to know how to refinish my brass porch lights too. They are dull from the weather. Please.
Dorothy FergusonRetired - Lakeland, Florida
2006
A. You can use lacquer thinner [on eBay or Amazon] to remove the lacquer, then use Brasso [on eBay or Amazon] to clean the parts -- there are lots of threads in the archives that give variations on the process (if you want more detailed instructions).
Jim GorsichCompton, California, USA
2006
A. Please check to see if the fixtures are solid brass or brass plate. You can use a magnet. Using a magnet to check if the item is solid brass will or not will only work if the non solid brass item is plated steel, it will not tell you if the item is plated brass over zinc die cast.
If brass plated, the use of an abrasive cleaner may remove the brass or the discoloration might be through what could be a thin brass coating (flash over nickel). If the items are plated, you might consider painting the fixtures as a way to reduce your cost vs replacing.
Gene Packmanprocess supplier - Great Neck, New York
2006
Multiple threads were merged: please forgive repetition, chronology errors, or disrespect towards other postings [they weren't on the same page] :-)
What is the best way to refinish my Brass exterior lamp outside my front door? I can see large areas of exposed metal where brass has worn off. But the lamp still works perfectly. I am trying not to throw it away. Any suggestions anyone?
Verlin Whittler2006
Unfortunately you cannot do brass plating yourself, Verlin. Your choices are to find a paint you like (maybe a brass toned one) or send it to a plating shop for replating. The latter is likely to cost as much or more than an inexpensive replacement, and would only be applicable if the lamp were very high quality, antique, hard to replace, or of sentimental value.
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
2006
How to Remove Lacquer from Saxophone
Q. I am a sax player in Boston. (Selmer Mark Vl baritone).
Most of the lacquer has worn off the horn. I would like to remove the rest, and just polish it.
I would appreciate the right help in this matter.
Thanks in advance.
Semi pro. musician - Brighton, Massachusetts, United States of America
2006
A. Hi Hector.
lacquer thinner [on eBay or Amazon] or even acetone [on eBay or Amazon] should remove the lacquer easily (if it's lacquer rather than some higher tech clearcoat). It's fine to just polish it after removing the lacquer, but it will have to be done often if you wish to keep it bright. Good luck.
P.S.: If I were emperor, it would be illegal to have a band without a sax :-)
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
Why Brass Lacquer and not Acrylic Sealer?
Q. Recently purchased two outdoor brass light fixtures; want to keep that nice shiny look. Would some water-based acrylic sealer work just as well as the "Brass Lacquer" mentioned in the earlier post?
Sophia Schmidt- Gaithersburg, Maryland
March 17, 2008
A. Hi, Sophia. Acrylic sealer might work okay. The principal advantage of brass lacquer is probably the ease of removal with lacquer thinner [on
eBay or
Amazon]. If you put acrylic sealer on and it starts fading or chipping, or the brass starts tarnishing in areas, it's not easy to get it off to redo, but probably requires aircraft stripper.
which is really noxious stuff. Good luck.
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
March 2008
Q. Ok, just got me a new HENRY GOLDEN BOY. How do I keep the brass shiny?
- florence Missouri
March 19, 2017
A. Hi. Brass lacquer is simplest.
Luck & Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
Beeswax polish
on
Amazon
(affil links)
A. I am finally getting my antique brass bed cleaned with no tarnish. I was planning to apply beeswax [on eBay or Amazon] to keep the dirt and tarnish at bay. I am a senior so my energy is limited. Actually I am hoping I never have to do anything other than washing again! I was going to get rid of this bed but discovered that the frame (original) is very rigid making arising easier and safer.
Nan Symmesretirement home - Vancouver BC Canada
August 21, 2017
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