Brass? Lacquer? Horrible letterbox

[Planeiron]

I recently spent quite a bit of time restoring a front door and as part of this removed and cleaned the brass. I assume the door and most of the brass are the same age as the house, so approaching 100 years. The pieces are nice EXCEPT for the letterbox which is a recent cheap gharish addition especially the finish. It's super shiney and looks cheap compared to the original pieces. This is the old brass cleaned a couple of months ago (quite nice but a bit shiney) followed by a picture of how it looks today which I quite like and is how I hoped it would soften.


So the problem is the letterbox. It seems to have some sort of impervious coating. Can this be removed? Is it worth doing? (the price of some of the brass letterboxes I've looked at make me want to try). If I could get it removed and it looked a bit more weathered I might leave it in the medium term. It looks much more obvious in real life: I don't think the photos show how shiney and bad it is.

 

[duke]

The old brass looks great. Any way to rough the letter box surface with a fine abrasive?
Overall looks fine to me.

 

[Planeiron]

I could remove the letterbox and try sanding it. What grit(s) would you recommend?

 

[duke]

I would start with a 1000 wet type paper or even higher. Is it just brass plated or solid?
Try a small area on the bottom edge first, if it goes wrong then it won't be seen.

 

[Planeiron]

A very strong magnet only lightly attaches to it so I'm guessing it's solid? I don't think it was very expensive so I'll give it a go along the edge as you suggest. Thanks

 

[duke]

And work down in grit until your happy with with the look.
I am sure some chemicals would possibly work but I wouldn't know what to use.

 

[Old.bodger]

I would soak it in paint stripper.

 

[NickM]

Would acetone take the lacquer off?

 

[Eric the Viking]

Sanding is an absolutely last resort!
Start with Acetone in case it's cellulose lacquer. Once it's off, bury the letterbox in damp (not wet) soil for a week or so then dig up and wash off. You should get a reasonable patina. then degrease (more acetone), and re-lacquer from a rattle can.

Years ago, I knew someone who faked the patina on old pub mirrors that way.

 

[Lons]

Nothing to lose trying to make it look aged but why not look for an old s/h replacement? They're common in antique shops and sometimes boot sales for not too much money. Facebook marketplace and ebay are also worth a look.

 

[Mike G]

Sanding is an absolutely last resort!
Start with Acetone in case it's cellulose lacquer. Once it's off, bury the letterbox in damp (not wet) soil for a week or so then dig up and wash off. You should get a reasonable patina. then degrease (more acetone), and re-lacquer from a rattle can.

Years ago, I knew someone who faked the patina on old pub mirrors that way.

I recently "aged" some new brass ceiling lights using salt and vinegar. It was really effective. Just dissolve as much salt as you can in a ramekin dish-sized container of vinegar, then soak some kitchen roll in the mix and plaster it onto the brass. Leave it for 2 or 3 days, then rinse off.

 

[Eric the Viking]

Have to say that both Bob's and Mike's suggestions are better than mine: salt and vinegar would give you far more control of the result, and reusing salvaged brassware always looks better than something new.

 

[Doug71]

I would use Nitromors or similar to remove the lacquer then just put it back on the door and let the elements take their toll.

Swapping letter plates can be a real faff as there are so many different sizes and styles, you often find yourself trying to redrill a bolt hole 2mm to the side or something equally as tricky.

An ex girlfriend I had could never understand (appreciate?) why I removed all the lacquer from the brassware before I fitted it to my old front door, she much preferred the shiny look.........not the reason we split up but I guess all these little differences do add up!