Question: stopping tarnish

[tkelch]

I have been cutting a few brass bracelets and have noticed that within a few days of cutting them they are starting to tarnish and it looks bad. is there any thing I can do to slow or stop them from tarnishing?

 

[Andrew Biggs]

Unfortunately it is the nature of brass. It gets a patina very quickly.

You could try Renaissance wax but that will only slow it down because it'll wear off depending on how much the bracelet is worn. Spaying with a clear lacquer will also wear off quite quickly.

Cheers
Andrew

 

[Brian Marshall]

There is a clear engine (spray can) enamel that I wrote about sometime back. I listed the brand and of course I don't remember it now...

If someone has a way of digging out my old post, the stuff worked well.

We put the items under a heat lamp to make sure it cured. (It's made for high heat anyway)

Some of the items were in a showcase exposed to the sun for over a year and showed no signs of tarnish.



Brian

 

[TyG]

I have used a polishing compound called Hubble. It apparently developed for polishing the telescope lens, it poilshes so finely that tarnish is supposed to be slowed dramatically, seems to work ok on copper. Ty.

 

[Arnaud Van Tilburgh]

I like the patina of brass.
The only thing is that yours isn't worn, so you get no contrast between tarnished parts and that what gets naturally tarnished when one wears it.

Same with silver, I like it when the deeper parts get black and make contrast with the upper level.

One thing that sure helps on silver if you don't want it to tarnish is to put it in a closed plastic bag, that way there is less air that comes in contact with the bracelet and it wont tarnish that fast. Works on silver as well

arnaud

 

[monk]

brass that contacts the skin is just begging for a quick discoloration. i'd simply advise the user to let it "go" for a few days, then try some clear coat lacquer after a bit of brasso. btw, this will usually cause ones' skin to discolor. what i do in such cases, i cut a piece of suede leather, cut it to match the bracelet size/shape, and then glue it to the inside of the blank with a high quality adhesive. be aware, some brass alloys contain lead. i'm thinkin such alloys shouldn't be used for bracelets.

 

[tkelch]

Thank you i will have to try some of those out. i like engene enamel idea i will have to find some and try it out

 

[Bama]

Let is tarnish until the color is pretty much the same dull color all over and then burnish the bracelet with 0000 steel wool. This will give the bracelet a nice soft sheen and will give the contrast that Arnaud is talking about. After the burnishing polish with a good paste wax and a soft cloth. This will give the bracelet almost a golden luster and will slow the tarnishing process a great deal, it will not stop it. Over time the more the bracelet is ploished in this manor the better it will look.