Brass stair rods

[screwpainting]

Hi, I am trying to clean and refurb our brass stair rods. They have been in for about twenty years and still don't look too bad but I want them as new again. I have used some screwfix no nonsence paint and varnish remover as thats what I had, just in case they were varnished or laquered originaly. Then I will brasso them but don't know what to do about protecting them with a laquer or whatever nor, how best to apply it once I get them done with the brasso.
Any suggestions most welcome.

 

[DeanH]

Fairly sure you can apply a wax to stop it tarnishing as quickly. Although I've never done it so you'd have to do some further research.

Or perhaps spray with a clear coat?

 

[niall Y]

Rustins Lacquer which is for use with non-ferrous metals will do the job. You can apply with soft brush, as these are obviously too big to dip

 

[graham88]

I use peek to polish brass up to a high shine and then a light coat of shellac to stop/slow the tarnishing. Shellac is great because you can wipe in on with a cloth, it dries very quickly and you can barely tell it's there once it's done. Not very abrasion resistant so that may be a factor for you but it's a very cheap and easy option.

 

[Fergie 307]

Hi, I am trying to clean and refurb our brass stair rods. They have been in for about twenty years and still don't look too bad but I want them as new again. I have used some screwfix no nonsence paint and varnish remover as thats what I had, just in case they were varnished or laquered originaly. Then I will brasso them but don't know what to do about protecting them with a laquer or whatever nor, how best to apply it once I get them done with the brasso.
Any suggestions most welcome.

If they are solid brass then you could make up a tube, a piece of soil or waste pipe for example, with a blanking plug on one end. Mix salt and distilled clear vinegar in the ratio one table spoon of salt to every litre of vinegar, heat enough to completely dissolve the salt. Put your rods in the tube and fill with the mixture. If you used a piece of 40mm waste pipe and did a few at a time you wouldn't need much mixture. This will remove any tarnishing, you would still probably need to polish them afterwards. If you have a bench grinder might be quicker to just get a polishing mop for that, and go straight at them without removing the tarnish first, just depends how bad they are. I would also go with clear shellac for the finish, easy to apply, and very easy to remove if you ever needed to as it dissolves readily in alcohol.