How do you tarnish brass?

Question

I bought new brass curtain fittings (brackets, curtain rings, finials & curtain rod). I have put paint stripper on them to remove the laquer but I want them to tarnish quickly so I can put them up. I want them to look like they are really old not new and shiny.

Answer 1

A quicker way to tarnish brass is to use vinegar... just brush vinegar over the brass piece and wait a day or two. To accelerate the process, expose the brass piece to sunlight after brushing on the vinegar.

If you want a mottled look on top of the tarnished look, tarnish the piece first and let it dry in the sun, then splatter vinegar onto the piece... the area where the vinegar droplets land will tarnish darker than the rest of the piece.

Ammonia -fumes- will also oxidize raw brass. I stress the word -fumes-.because you don't want the brass to come into contact w/ the ammonia, just it's fumes. The way I've done oxidized brass pieces is to tie a thread around the piece, and wrap the thread around a pencil so the piece will dangle in, but not touch the bottom of, a glass peanut butter jar.

I pour in an inch or two of straight ammonia into the bottom of the jar and then dangle the brass piece in the jar with the pencil across the lip of the jar, then I cover the whole thing w/ several layers of plastic wrap secured by a rubber band around the top of the jar and then I put that whole contraption inside a large zip-loc bag and seal the bag.

Check your piece every 20 minutes or so until the fumes have done the job.

Be VERY careful around ammonia fumes... and don't add ANYthing else to the ammonia else you risk creating truly toxic fumes.

Hope this helps,

    TX Griff

Answer 2

Perfect question for the perfect time of year!!!  Since it's summer, let the brass sit out directly in the sun.  Some people even wet it first, and cover it completely in salt and let it sit out for a couple / few days to a week.  What that does is, it will turn the brass to a brownish green giving it an aged look.  The salt with the elements of the weather (sun) will oxidize the brass giving it a rustic, old appearance.