I had this problem last week, only it involved RK copper appliance pulls that were way too pink for the LB Brass line of copper knobs I had selected. I panicked and called the top-notch hardware store I had purchased these from in Chicago, and the salesperson put me in touch with a metal refinisher she knew. Amazingly, he was available immediately and turned the job around within 48 hours. The results were impressive. I wouldn't have believed it was possible one week ago.

I don't know where you are located, but you might check with a few local antique sellers or antique restoration shops in your area. They often need the services of a quality metal refinisher. In fact, the fellow who fixed my appliance pulls also does work for several such places in the Chicago area.

Good luck to you!

Yes it is possible. You'll put them in a liquid and that will cause them to lose the brightness and darken a bit. My brother did that on his kitchen knobs. Sorry I can not tell you the NAME of this magical liquid, but it does exist and if he found it, it can't be too hard to find. LOL

Yes! I've used this myself a number of times for bright brass that needs to match my vintage hardware. Easy peasy. Just dunk the knobs in the solution and wait until they're the right color, then take out and spray with lacquer (optional) to hold the finish.

Link below:

Here is a link that might be useful: Brass Darkening Solution

Definitely possible! The handles on my island were bought at a salvage store. Although most were already dark, a few were still the "antique brass" colour. Jax Chemical Company makes a whole line of darkeners. Although I did not use this (it could not be shipped to Canada), I found a very similar product at an architectural salvage store here in Toronto. Jax does ship - just not internationally! There may also be retailers in your area that carry Jax.

Here is a photo of the handles after I darkened them. Wish I had a "before" that would show how much they did darken! You cannot tell the difference, I think. If you call Jax I'm sure they could recommend the right product.

Eliz

I've been wondering if it is possible to do this to doorknobs. On the bathroom door, the black finish is worn almost completely off the brass, compared to the lesser used knobs which are still quite black.
I am always amazed when someone posts a question I have been wondering about, and that someone on garden web usually knows the answer! Thanks for asking the question, cheri127!

Thanks so much for all of the great tips. I'm going to look for a metal refinisher in our area (Philadelphia) and if I can't find one I think I'll try it myself by removing the existing lacquer and then using the brass darkening solution. I actually like the idea of making the handles tarnished brass that will rub to a bit of a shine in the often touched places (like the door handles in my house). Thanks again everyone.

I have a similar problem. The oil-rubbed bronze hardware on my doors, has already turned to a shine brass color. I chose it because I liked the dark look. I wonder how this brass product would word and hold up on bronze. Previous to this thread I was thinking about experimenting with the gun-coloring products. (Saw it on a craft show.)
Has anyone tried to darken their ORB when it turned shiny & brassy?

Debsan, haven't tried but do check out the products above - circuspeanut's link or mine. I know that Jax has a wide range of products and I'll bet that one will do the trick for you.

Eliz

Eliz & Peanut,
Many many thanks, I checked out the link & I'm thrilled. I also have one copper tile that isn't as dark as the rest, and it sounds like this product will take care of that too!
Thank you dahlins!

timber & deb - yes, yes, you can use it on doorknobs. I used it to darken a shiny brass doorknob (after removing its lacquer), we use that knob regularly and it hasn't worn off at all, not on our hands or otherwise. Can't speak for forever, but at about 6 months it's goin' strong.

(Also, I suspect the stuff Rockler/Woodcraft sells is just a repackaged version of the JAX liquid - it's really just liver of sulphur, I think, if you want to get REALLY cheap.)

Circuspeanut and Eliz: after reading your posts, I think I'm going to be brave and try to do this myself. I found a metal refinisher but the estimate was $45-65 for each pull (about the same as the restocking fee if I sent them back). Can you tell me whether the brass can be reshined after using a darkening solution on it? If I screw it up, I'd like to know I can give it to a professional to fix. Thanks.

Cheril, hope you still see this (threads are moving fast these days!) - I read somewhere that you can use a Scotch Brite pad to gently buff the areas you want to "distress" for a little shine to come through. May be worth buying an inexpensive brass handle and doing a test with the darkener and pad?

Cheers,
Eliz

Great idea, Eliz. I'll definitely do that. Thanks.

Hi - I'm late in the game here, but a local antique store owner told me to get gun bluing for this. He said it's the stuff you use to clean guns with. He said to rub it on, then wipe it off. I haven't tried it yet, but I have antique pulls I wanted to try it with. I assume bluing would be cheap, but I don't know.

Since KrissD brought up the gun products, I wish to add that there is another product sold at gunstores that turns the metal brown. On the show I saw it was used to color metal for jewelry crafts, I believe the user called it "Plum", but it was a brownish color.

I will certainly look into these gun products too...pretty crazy. Thanks.

Cheri, let me know the results. I don't know where there's a gunstore, but I do know where Rockler is, so I think I'll start there.

Doesn't Walmart sell guns? (Or at least gun cleaning supplies?)