Protecting Polished Brass

Question:

I am the plant engineer. My plant manufactures decorative ornamental brass products and we are sometimes asked to provide a high-polished finish. How can we seal or protect this high-polished finish in order to eliminate the need for constant polishing? We would be very grateful if you could please contact us with any information that you have. R. R.

Answer:

What kind of world would this be without brass to polish? My family owns the Ajax Brass Polish Co. What are you trying to do, R.R., put us out of business? Furthermore, Sir Joseph, of HMS Pinafore fame got his start polishing brass.

Protecting brass from corrosion, we call it tarnish, is easy. All you have to do is apply an organic protective coating. The procedure is: 1. Polish the brass surfaces to remove corrosion products. 2. Remove all traces of polishing compounds, oily soils and other contaminants. It is very important that the surface be prepared properly to maximize coating adhesion. 3. Immediately apply an organic coating. These coatings can be applied by brushing, dipping or spraying. They can be conventional coatings, electrophoretic coatings, powder coatings or waterborne coatings