Antique Brass, How can I do this? The stuff I removed looks like powder coat.

Some door knob brass with antique finish has chipped off/worn off. Outside it's the UV and temp difference. Maybe the thousands of hand jobs
contributes too. There is always uneven wear depending on whether you are right or left handed. Outside the temp difference can be 32 - 95 in
not so sunny Kalifornia.

So I made a few dowels with the right diameter to hold the door knobs, spun them up and gave them a brushed finish with some gray scotch brite.
Eventually the brass gets dark and looks antique again but with a dull look. But not like the original. So isn't that what antique brass is. Aged looking

The original Schlage finish looked like it was brushed (circular lines). It was tough to remove like a powder coat job. The old finish didn't budge with
something like lacquer thinner or paint remover. But the old finish was sealed and always looked shinny.

Bottom Line:
Is there a wipe-on/or dip solution for brass to seal it? Is PPG clear the way to go on a brushed surface just of the lathe?
A brushed finish like on a refrigerator door is the best finish in my opinion.

Any good clear coat will work for you. I did a whole 10 x 10 foyer of bronze years ago and it still looks good.

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Try this. TotalBoat Gleam Marine Spar Varnish | High Gloss and Satin Varnish

Description mentions "maximum UV resistance on brightwork". Totalboat makes good stuff.

I should add, I haven't used this specific product, so I'm not sure of the viscosity. Might need to thin it some. If you can, it'd probably be quick to apply it with a brush with the work turning in the lathe. One of those foam brushes might work well if you're concerned about brush strokes.

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Bondo said:

Any good clear coat will work for you. I did a whole 10 x 10 foyer of bronze years ago and it still looks good.

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The factory Schlage finish is ... I don't know what but it is uniform. There are lines to simulate a brushed finish. The lines could have been
brushed on with an abrasive. And the powder coat may be almost clear with a tint in it. Once applied the brushed lines in the brass still show through.

I like my brushed finish with a grey scotch brite much better. A few wooden dowels are easy to hold pieces on the lathe. The fine lines are good for masking hand prints.

Bottom line:
I prefer not to recondition stuff in order to touch them up every week like at Buckingham Palace. I don't know if they still use Briwax there
but the old cans I have say that the wax is approved by those bloks. Would be nice to have a crew keeping everything in order, but then I would
not be here. Self-sufficient is a way of life and running out to Home Depot to get half a dozen door locks because I don't like the corrosion is
what a typical person does. If I did it again I would have bought stainless steel.


(interior knob out of the weather)

Dead bolt ring was buffed but the lock face was brushed. Just to see how each weathers out.
The bottom knob assembly is all brushed. Maybe I might let them tarnish a bit before a clear coat. Still don't know.
The age of the brush job is 18 hours, and counting.



(exterior knob where hand wear weather made the finish chip off)

I re-keyed the locks a while back with a lock kit. Years later a now I can make my own pins from brass. The springs I might not be able to make same as the originals.

Look up a process called "patination" or "patinization". You can get commercial solutions that react with the metal, changing the color and making it less prone to corrode, because you just "corroded it" with the solution. The liver of sulpher mentioned above is an old time way of doing this. Ammonia fumes will do it too, each process will give a different color. I used a patina that gave a "peacock" array of colors on this table lamp. The before photo is just polished brass, so no need to post.