Letter 9010

Replating brass pulls for furniture  + I just had an antique dining room suite refinished. The pulls I think are stamped tin. A magnet will stick to them. The brass finish had worn off. What is the best way to replate the brass? Thanks, Bill Yates - Houston, Texas A consumer can't do brass plating, Bill. Besides being quite complex, it can only be plated out of cyanide solutions -- and cyanide is the last thing you'd want around a house. You would need to send the parts to a plating shop. However, compare your picture to some antique brass drawer pulls on e-bay. I would bet 5 to 1 that your picture is showing brass (or "gold") paint, not brass plating. Try to scrape some color off the back side; although brass plating can wear thru, it won't chip off like paint.   Ted Mooney, P.E. finishing.com Inc. - Brick, NJ

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