Brass is Pink not Yellow

A. I've followed this thread with interest, wanting to clean several antique Edwardian brass door handles and finger plates. They needed cleaning up, but through the grime came the pink. I tried rubbing a lot with Brasso which made a negligible difference. I couldn't get the chemicals Goran suggested, but tried pickling a H2O2 and white vinegar mix, to no avail.

In the end I went a bit nuclear, but it seems to have paid off. I remembered I had some Ferric Chloride ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] solution from years ago that I used to etch copper circuit boards. I poured some into a plastic container and then got a clean sponge and carefully soaked some up (wear chemical/plastic gloves ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] and eye protection ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] ) and gently rubbed around all the places that were pink. The copper dissolves very quickly using this method, but you end up with quite a black-looking piece of brass. I actually went over the whole piece in this way, etching out plenty of bits here and there. I panicked a bit that I'd ruined it, but then I used a metal polish called "Peek" ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] which is available in the UK on Amazon. It's a blue-coloured paste rather than the liquid of Brasso.

Well I have to say that Peek works a treat -- much better than Brasso. Took a fair amount of rubbing -- I initially used a non-scratch pan scourer to get the worst off, then the sponge side and then a softer cloth.

All the handles have come up a treat - no pink tinges and a deep yellow brass colour. The handles are quite old so have plenty of surface scratches which I won't polish out as I don't want them to look brand new, but I'm really pleased with the results.

A. Hi Neville. My limited experience has been that commercial copper polishes like Brasso ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] will change that raw look back to the mellow look.

A. You have dissolved the zinc from the brass, leaving only copper. To get the brass colour back, you will need to polish off the copper; if it is not too bad, Brasso or Duraglit ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] will do it. Do not use an abrasive agent unless the colour is persistent; if you do have to use an abrasive, you will need to polish out the scratches you will leave in the brass. Cleaning brass is not as easy as many people think, and a lot of damage gets done by people using the wrong systems. I suggest you should use a professional cleaning agent such as Brasso, etc., and do not try to take short cuts with strong acids and alkalies.

A. Brasso is okay. Try 5% ammonium citrate solution, pH 9 (50 gms citric acid ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] , 1 lit water, add ammonia ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] until pH is 9). Good luck!

  Thank you very, very much, Budija Goran!

I have just removed some of the brass hardware from the 5% solution and it is is beautiful yellow again. I buffed them with ScotchBrite ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] and Brasso ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] and they look as good as new. They only needed a few minutes in the 5% ammonium citrate solution. So easy!

A. Copper coating on your brass objects is very thin (you removed zinc from surface of it ), clear coat can help a little bit but best solution is copper plating. Hope it helps and good luck!

 Hi Maria. Please see Liz's problem, Goran's suggestion, and Liz's rave review of how well it worked and so easily. I don't think anyone will be able to improve on it for you; but please get back to us after you try it. Best of luck.

Regards,

A. Hi Maria. We included links to where you can get the citric acid and household ammonia that Goran mentioned, and pH paper. But the internet, like a library, is a one-room schoolhouse where people of all experience levels can read about mixes & procedures they may or may not be qualified to follow. Maybe you can find a friend with some chemistry experience? >Safely working with chemicals is something you should be taught hands-on.

Although citric acid and household ammonia don't sound especially dangerous to me, nobody can explain to a person whose experience level they don't know, how to safely buy, store, handle, identify, and mix chemicals they have no understanding of. But you surely must not do so without wearing goggles ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] and rubber gloves ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] , and with good outdoor ventilation, and unless you've had at least high school chemistry, understand how to follow Goran's advice of how to adjust the pH to 9, and your work area is free of pets & small children who could get into them, and unless you've read all warnings on the containers :-)

Good luck and Regards,

A. No, Mila, ammonium nitrate is certainly not citric acid. Please have a friend with chemistry experience read Budija's instructions carefully and help you with this. And also please carefully read the warnings to Maria L about messing with chemicals if you're not a chemist. Even household chemicals are dangerous :-)

Good luck.

Regards,

Ammonium Nitrate

A. Hi again Mila. Nobody on this page said that ammonium nitrate will take the pink tint from brass? ... but perhaps someone somewhere did? Sorry, I don't know what you're referring to :-)

Liz asked how to remove the pink tint, Goran said to make ammonium citrate by mixing ammonia with citric acid, and Liz said is worked great. That's all I can say about the subject. Good luck!

Regards,

A. Hi Austin. I'm on record on this site a dozen times discouraging people from trying to guess what a finish is from its appearance ...

Nonetheless, I'm gonna go out on a limb and say those feet might be cast iron rather than brass? Have you tried a magnet on them?

Regards,

A. Dear Austin!

Your object is probably copper plated zinc or tin alloy. Ammonium citrate at pH 9 solution is perfect for real brass, not for copper or brass plated zinc or tin. In that case better solution is 47,5 gms sodium gluconate ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] / 47,6 gms citric acid ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] and 4,9 gms tartaric acid ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] / 1 lit water (according to USPT 4,264,418). Hope it helps and good luck.

A. Hi Margaret. What did you do to make them turn pink in the first place? If they were already pink when you first saw them, is there a chance that there's a lacquer clearcoat on them? But order pH paper ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] by mail if necessary; trying to do chemistry without pH paper or meter is wrong, and who even knows what else is in those tablets that could be messing things up.

Regards,

A. I removed copper color from the brass material through following process and it's fine for me.
1. vinegar ⇦in bulk on eBay or Amazon [affil links] + 5% sulfuric acid
followed by the Lemishine ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] plus dish washing liquid for the shine.

2. 5% sulfuric acid + 3% peroxide ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] but due to oxidizing process the brass gets dull.

A. Hi Richard. Goran suggested 5% ammonium citrate to get rid of pink color, and Liz G. gave a rave review of how easy it was and how well it worked. I wouldn't hunt for alternatives til I tried it :-)
Read the safety warnings on the chemical containers and this whole page. Good luck.

Regards,

A. Hi Alison. There are a thousand and one formulations for brass, so we can't guarantee that your results will be quite exactly the same, but Liz G accidentally turned her brass pink, included pictures and exactly how she did it, so we appended your inquiry to that thread :-)

Luck & Regards,

A. Hi Sofia. We appended your inquiry to a thread where Liz G encountered a similar problem, Goran gave her an answer, and Liz said "good as new" and "so easy". It should work for you too!

Luck & Regards,

A. You can't use ferrous ammonium citrate. Citric acid ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] can be found in every supermarket, ammonia 25% ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] only in chemicals shop, pH paper ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] probably too. (50 gms citric acid, 1 lit water, add ammonia until pH is 9).

A typical treatment regimen is as follows:

Solution containing citric acid (50 g) and Thiourea ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] (10 g) in water (1 L) can be used too;
place the object in the solution and leave it until it is clean. This can take from several minutes to several hours depending on the condition of the object;
fully immerse the object in the citric solution to prevent the development of 'tide lines' on the object as these are difficult to remove, requiring extensive polishing;
brush with a soft bristle brush, such as a toothbrush, to speed up the process;
after cleaning, wash the object thoroughly to remove all traces of acid. Immerse the object in baths of clean water (preferably distilled) or under running water ... If you want shiny surface a proprietary metal polish can be used.

Hope it helps and good luck!

A. Hi Dana. Unfortunately it's hard to tell what something is actually made of by just looking at it. This chandelier could be solid brass, in which case you can carry on and read Goran's advice about turning brass back to standard color instead of pink. But it might be just brass plated, in which case the plating may be worn away (a magnet won't prove it's solid brass rather than brass plated zinc; but if it's magnetic, it's steel or cast iron, not solid brass). If it isn't actually old, and it's silver colored in part, it could be a brass-tinted lacquer over nickel plating.

Test it with a magnet and tell us what you find, try to clean the ruined piece with lacquer thinner ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] Warning! highly flammable! (to remove the lacquer if any), and send pics to mooney@finishing.com of the ruined piece and the whole chandelier for posting here -- and maybe someone can help

Luck & Regards,

Thanks for the advice. None of the chandelier pieces are magnetic. I will get some of the thinner tomorrow and see what happens. I also need to get pictures to show.
Thanks!

A. Hi Jonathan. I'd say don't dip it, use Q-tips ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] and patience. If the Q-tip doesn't offer tight enough control at an edge, use little pieces of black electrician's tape as a maskant.

But I would not use peroxide, I would follow Goran Budija's advice.

Luck & Regards,

A. Hi Rhonda.
The easiest way is with pH paper which is inexpensive and is simply dipped into the solution and turns different colors depending on the pH. You can follow this link ⇨
and see offers for smaller quantities as well.

Luck & Regards,