Expert: Eileen Cronk - 6/18/2008

Question
QUESTION: Hi, I have a black wrought iron metal bed with four brass spheres on each post.  Over the years, some of the lacquering which gave each sphere an "old tarnished" look has been rubbed off and they now look almost too brassy and shiny.  Is there any way of treating them so that they regain their original and more authentic appearance?
Thank you
Carole


ANSWER: Hi Carole
Nice to hear from you.
Hmmm..interesting question that flys in the face of what "I thought" LOL.
And actually I think I'm right.
The lacquer is applied to brass to keep it from tarnishing.
So if the brass has nothing on it then it acquires that lovely old patina of age that we love.
Now what I am thinking about these bed post knobs is they are not brass at all but where made from a metal and then sprayed to resemble this old patina.
Its now coming off and you see shiny metal.
If in fact this is the case, I would remove all finish from them (its coming off anyway) and use one of those antique brass kits to duplicate what was there.
These kits are available at most paint stores.
They consist of a base coat and an antique medium.
Hope this helps
Regards
Eileen


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you for that.....the local paint stores probably won't know what I am asking for if I just request an "antique brass kit"....do you know of a particular branded company that makes them?

Answer
Hi Carole
I just happened to have one of these kits...forgotten till you asked.
Its called
Accents by Rust-Oleum
Antique gold
The one you may want is antique brass.
The kit contains a can of gold spray paint, a tin of antique type paint that is rubbed over the gold then rubbed back.
It also contains a foam brush and rubber gloves.
Hope you can find it or something similar.
Good Luck
Eileen