Simple Cosmetic Brass Plating
Today we’re taking a look at a simple, and easy way to bring some cosmetic brass plating to your projects.
Materials Needed:
Steel component
Plumbers torch
Brass brush or wheel
Heat resistant gloves
When it comes to using this technique to apply some brass plating the most critical aspect is ensuring you get a 100% brass brush. Most of the brash wheel brushes found in the local big box as brass coated steel. While great for metal work these brushes won’t work for our purposes. One common place to get fully brass brushes for a reasonable cost is the brushes included in gun cleaning kits. These are readily available at most sporting goods stores and Walmarts.
We’re going to begin by securing our work piece. I used a metal C-clamp to secure a 4″ hairpin leg to the metal work table of my drill press.
Then I heated the work piece using a propane plumbers torch. When the work area was thoroughly heated I began using a brass brush on the heated surface. The melting point of brass is approximately 750º F lower than steel. We’re not not trying to heat it enough to melt it. Just get it hot enough that the brass softens and will transfer from the brush onto the steel.