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Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Pine Beach, NJ
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for Metal Finishing since 1989
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Protective coating for brass
We have brass doors on our elevators in our building. We have been trying everything under the sun to remove the tarnish build up on these doors. I was told that the protective seal that comes from the manufacture was removed by a cleaning company over 8 years ago. Now that I am the building manager I have been asked to get these doors back to a shine.
We get them clean and then the doors tarnish again. I tried a polyurethane on it but that dried with a with film.
What can I do to clean them and protect them with a shine?
Thank You
- Staten Island, New York
September 30, 2021
A. Hi Rocco. Brass Lacquer is made for this purpose. G.J. Nikolas [a finishing.com supporting advertiser] is a major manufacturer who can advise you on this and offer their product. For smaller jobs you can simply buy brass lacquer in a spray can.
Luck & Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
⇩ Related postings, oldest first ⇩
Q. I want to restore my solid brass door handle to shiny brass and protect it with an appropriate coating. A hardware store merchant told me to use clear nail polish. Is there a commercial product that I can use on brass to maintain the shine cosmetically that would be the equivalent of a polyurethane coating for wood?
Steve Macalhomeowner - Hawthorne, New York, US
2003
A. Well, it's not really the equivalent of a polyurethane coating for wood, but what you probably want is simply called brass lacquer.
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
A. There are many "brass lacquers". If you want to do it yourself, I would recommend a nitro-cellulose based lacquer for door handles, and other items that will be handled frequently. If you don't have spray equipment, don't count on an aerosolized lacquer to achieve the same gloss as you would expect from a poly-urethane.
Jake KochG. J. Nikolas &Co.,Inc.
Bellwood, Illinois
A. There is a commercially available product called Staybrite that works quite well. Should be used in a low humidity area, two coats with thorough drying between coats.
Gayle CoffeyMetalx Specialty Products / Ronatec
Fallbrook, California
Q. Kindly suggest suitable environmental friendly protective coating for Brass - Watch components to protect from Corrosion & Tarnishing. As watch components are very tiny in size, we look for coating on batches.
Siva Subramanianplating shop employee - Hosur, Tamilnadu, India
October 23, 2010
A. Hi, Siva. It is possible to gold plate brass, but that sounds expensive. I imagine that a dip in sodium benzotriazole
⇦ this on
eBay
or
Amazon [affil links]
, followed by being sealed away from the environment, would prevent corrosion for a very long time.
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
Q. I am curious about the nitrocelluose lacquers. Deft Clear wood finish is a NC lacquer, but how would that do for brass as opposed to another NC lacquer but made specifically for brass?
Larry Clark- San Diego, California
November 23, 2012
A. Hi Larry. Commercial products like that are mixed to a proprietary, secret, formula. Nobody except a couple of prized employees knows the exact formula, and it could be changed tomorrow if we did. So there isn't an actual answer to your question. But the sellers will try to adjust stuff to make the formulation as good as economically possible for the application in mind.
Thus, I suspect but do not know, that a lacquer made for wood might have some small amount of tung oil ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] or similar ingredient, whereas a brass lacquer might contain a little sodium benzotriazole ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] (a brass brightener/preservative) or an etchant for better adhesion to brass.
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
"Clearcoats/Lacquers for Brass from G.J. Nikolas"
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