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Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
The authoritative public forum
for Metal Finishing 1989-2025
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Brass door hardware of hotel is tarnishing
Quickstart: Uncoated bright brass will very quickly tarnish. Three solutions are offered & discussed:
• sending it to a finishing shop for clear powder coating,
• waxing or lacquering it in-house on a regular schedule,
• replacing it with the newer Zirconium Nitride finishes.
Q. I work at a hotel where all the exterior doors have brass hardware. the place is 3 years old and all the door hardware has tarnished. I tried sanding one down with micro-mesh and polish it with Wenol automotive polish ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] . It looked good for about 3 days and it was already tarnished. Is there some way I could electroplate the handles? or is there some kind of coating that will protect them? Thanks Guys.
david kierzkowskimotel - sterling heights, Michigan
2001
A. The hardware was probably originally finished with lacquer over solid brass or brass plate. Due to wear, the lacquer finish has worn off and the exposed brass is now tarnishing. I would suggest sending the items out for stripping and recoating preferably with a clear powder coat.
Gene Packmanprocess supplier - Great Neck, New York
A. Hello David,
Mr. Packman's ideas are great, but I don't think the Marriot corporation would be too keen on a hotel missing its door hardware, not even for a day. A clear powder coating would give you a durable finish, but when it fails, you will have to remove the door handles again. It sounds like you were on the right track, after polishing the parts, wipe the polishing compound off with a solvent like acetone ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] Warning! highly Flammable! , and then apply wax ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] or lacquer. I'd attempt this at night when the guests are in for the night. You'll be able to maintain the finish this way, rather than having to remove everything and send it out.
Good luck,
Jake KochG. J. Nikolas &Co.,Inc.
Bellwood, Illinois
A. I would suggest that you consider replacing the door hardware with some of the newer hardware that has a ZrN finish, rather than a coating over the brass. This is usually a three-tier coating. First, there is a base coating of electroless nickel for corrosion resistance and fill, followed by electroplated chromium, then physical vapor deposited zirconium nitride (ZrN), with a slight carbon content to produce the brass color (ZrN is gold). Most of the new high end door hardware is treated this way.
Jim Treglio - scwineryreview.com
PVD Consultant & Wine Lover
San Diego, California
Jim is right that ZrN coatings will reduce maintenance issues, but not precisely right in calling it "high end" ...Although it's higher end than what a lot of consumers are used to, luxury architectural hardware such as you buy in London or NYC is still brass or plated finishes. I met a google billionaire who established a luxury hardware manufacturing company when he couldn't find stuff of high enough quality to suit himself 🙂
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