How to care for unlacquered brass

Most brass you buy has a clear lacquer sprayed over it. That coating keeps the metal bright, and it also means the piece will look exactly the same in ten years as it does today. We do not lacquer ours.

What happens instead

Left bare, brass reacts with the air and with your hands. Within a few weeks the shine dulls. Within a few months it takes on a warmer, browner tone, darker in the places you do not touch and brighter where your fingers land. This is oxidation, and it is not damage.

The pattern is specific to you. A lamp on a desk you use every day ages differently from one in a hallway. That is the point.

If you like it dark

Do nothing. Dust it when you dust everything else. It will keep going.

If you want it bright again

Half a lemon and a spoon of salt will take it back almost to new. Rub, rinse properly, dry completely. A commercial brass polish works too, and faster. Either way you are removing the oxide layer, so the clock starts again from zero.

What to avoid

Do not put it in the dishwasher, and do not leave it wet. Water sitting on bare brass leaves spots that are harder to shift than ordinary tarnish. If it gets wet, dry it.