Brass is making a comeback. We have had enough of the black hardware for a while now, and they are undoubtedly on the way out, giving room for the resurrection of brass. 

In light of the brass trend, you might have come across lacquered and unlacquered brass which may confuse you. As solid brass handles can be a significant investment, before you go and splurge on your favourite brassware, keep on reading to find out what is the finish that suits you best. 

At first glance, lacquered brass and new unlacquered brass look very similar. However overtime this will change. 

Lacquered brass

Lacquered brass is brass that has a coating to prevent them from tarnishing. The majority of brass cabinet handles offered on market are lacquered, unless they are specifically stated otherwise. The downside to it is, even though it is coated with a glaze so that has a purposeof retaining brass’ new look over the years, no lacquer can survive indefinitely to everyday use and our ever-changing environment. At some point, the lacquer will wear off, leaving raw brass exposed and oxidised. It is important to note that brass lacquer may wear off in some areas and not in others and therefore, over a period of time, lacquered brass can look blotchy and unsightly.

Unlacquered brass 

On the other hand, unlacquered brass is simply raw brass without any coating whatsoever. This type of brass will oxidise on a daily basis depending on how much it is touched and smudged. At the beginning, unlacquered brass may look blotchy, however overtime this will give way to a lovely antique finish or so-called patina that many people love. The downside is that unlacquered brass is hard to find and will have a slightly more expensive price tag than lacquered brass. Stores that offer unlacquered brass will say so specifically. The below image is unlacquered brass that has been exposed to the environment for 6 months. 

Explore our lacquered and unlacquered brass handles here.

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE FOR UNLACQUERED BRASS TO PATINA? 

The rate at which brass oxidises depends largely how much use it gets. The more you touch it, the faster it patinas. It is the oil in your fingers, the minerals, acid etc that come into contact with it that tarnish it over time. 

WHAT TYPE OF BRASS FINISH SHOULD I CHOOSE FOR MY HOME? 

If you must know, ALL lacquer will wear off, ALL brass will patina. Most of hardware stores offer lacquered brass, however what they do not tell you is that over the years, no matter how diligent you are in maintaining it, the lacquer cannot last forever. And when it comes off, it does not come off consistently across the entire handles, which will make your handles look blotchy. 

Unlacquered brass, on the hand, go through an awkward phase in the beginning when the oxidisation process is most obvious. However, overtime it will age to a rich beautiful patina that require very little maintenance. In short, unlacquered brass becomes more beautiful as it ages. 

The good thing about this awkward phase though is you can always skip it by aging the unlacquered brass yourself, so that you can achieve that beautiful antique brass appearance immediately.

Therefore, our preferred finish is and always will be unlacquered brass.