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Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Pine Beach, NJ
The authoritative public forum
for Metal Finishing 1989-2024
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Need help painting brass!
Q. Want to turn brass to a copper color.
Hello - we recently bought a house that has a black stove with a brass railing. All the hardware in the kitchen is copper, and we'd like to turn the brass on the stove copper to match. I've been searching this forum, and it seems most of the search results are people wanting to turn copper back to brass.
I can remove these pieces from the stove, but they'll be too large to boil in any solution, so I'm looking for something I can rub on.
- Quimperle, France
March 2, 2023
A. Hi Rick. You're not going to be able to leach the zinc and other metals out of the brass to obtain a copper color. Your three choices will be to send them out for copper electroplating, apply copper colored paint per the instructions in this thread, or brush on a copper colored patinating solution.
Since you're probably concerned about tarnish, a copper colored paint is probably the better answer,
Luck & Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
⇩ Related postings, oldest first ⇩
Q. I wish to know how to spray paint brass. I have a brass candle stick which I need to change it's colour. Please help!
GRAHAM L [last name deleted for privacy by Editor]- SUNDERLAND, ENGLAND
2003
A. One candlestick? Scrub it with soapy water plus powdered pumice ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] , dry it, then spray it whatever color you like.
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
Q. Thanks Ted for the advice but do I need to prime the candlestick. Will the spray paint chip off the candle stick without being primed, and will Car spray paint do the Job.
Thanks,
GRAHAM L [last name deleted for privacy by Editor]- SUNDERLAND, ENGLAND
A. Sorry, Graham; I was wrong. If it's brass it really should be primed with a Self-etching primer ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] or you'll have poor adhesion and possibly those chips you mention.
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
Q. Greetings From Atlanta !
I was looking on here tonight to ask the same question you did, but I have many lovely pots of Brass that I want to change, Any ideas if we do need to prime or if we have any other options to do with our outdated brass ! I am most likely going to prime and turn mine copper color!
I wish I only had one candlestick to do, SIGH !
CHEERS
Jan S [last name deleted for privacy by Editor]- Woodstock, Georgia USA
2003
A. Hello Graham, I live in England, trying a similar thing myself but in modeling. There are primers on the market, One is Special Primer for (brass and other metals from Hammerite) ⇨
and there is another etching primer you can use on brass, one thin coat leave for a week then top coat, I've heard it is good.
Best Wishes.
Grumpy grandad
- Nottingham, England
2006
A. I found instruction for this at designtalk.homevisions.com. Wipe down with mineral spirits
⇦ this on
eBay
or
Amazon [affil links]
, sand only slightly, prime with metal primer (such as Rustoleum), then topcoat with wonderful color (metal spray paint). I could kick myself for selling all those brass candlesticks before I moved. I had fantastic shapes collected over 20 years. If it's an electrical fixture, make sure you take it off the connection first.
- Norman, Oklahoma
April 19, 2008
Ed. note: That URL appears to no longer be functional.
Q. Will this work on hardware that is on cabinets--I want to spray paint them silver
Susan Mitchamhobbyist - Douglasville, Georgia
August 25, 2010
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