How To Lacquer Brass

If you are sick and tired of having to repeatedly remove the tarnish from your brass objects, you may be interested to learn that applying a lacquer to the metal’s surface will stop this problem in its tracks. By following these directions and applying three to five coats of lacquer to your brass items a year, you are sure to keep them tarnish-free for good.

If you notice that your brass items have some old lacquer on them, use a small paintbrush dipped into a paint stripper to remove it. You will need to leave the item to sit according to the paint stripper’s instructions (usually no more than an hour) before removing it from the brass with a plastic scraper. If there is any stripper residue remaining, you can remove it with a paint solvent.

Give the brass a good polish with a nonabrasive tarnish cleaner, as this will remove any tarnish that the metal has developed over time. Then, you can use a rag to coat the brass with a neutralizer solvent (which will remove any traces of the chemicals left over from the cleaner).

Take a clean cotton rag and use it to polish away any spots or fingerprints from the brass surface. You can then use a small paintbrush to apply the clear fast-drying lacquer that you have purchased to the entire brass item, leaving it aside to dry. Apply a following 2 to 4 layer of lacquer to the item, leaving it to dry in between each coat.