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How to Burnish New Brass?

Q. Am installing a new kitchen and want a brass water faucet, but not shiny brass - is there a way to get rid of a new faucet's shiny finish and achieve a more burnished, old look?

Dave Reynolds
- Yardley, Pennsylvania, USA
2003

A. Hi, Dave. Unfortunately, a significant problem in answering such questions these days is that there have been so many changes and advances in metal finishing methods that consumers rarely know what the finish actually is. Yes it looks like brass, but it may actually be zirconium nitride, or it may be a yellow-tinted electrophoretic coating on top of bright nickel plating, or it may be brass plating. And it may have a lacquer finish, or a clear coat on top of the brass, or who knows?

If the fixture is advertised as solid brass (and several brands are), I suppose you could sand away until you got to the real brass, or send it to a plating shop for chemical stripping, by which time no shininess will be left. But the bright brass color you see may have little or nothing to do with brass.

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
2003