Brass is one of the most underrated items on the global metal market. It possesses almost the same valuable properties as other prominent non-ferrous metals but doesn’t receive as much attention, let alone explored enough. Most people only know brass as a material for making musical instruments and have totally zero knowledge about its electrical, mechanical, and industrial uses. Perhaps it’s about time we learn more about this amazing metal so we can maximize its many potentials.

Copper and Zinc

To fully understand the amazing properties of brass, let’s first study its main components. Brass is made of about 85 percent copper and 15 percent zinc. Its modern versions contain more, including arsenic, lead, phosphorus, aluminum, manganese, and silicon, but let’s focus on its main components since they are the ones that give brass the majority of its unique qualities.

Copper is one of the oldest and most widely used metals on the planet. It may even be the very first metal to be discovered so its use dates back some 10,000 years ago. The reason why we know about this is because some artifacts from that period still exist today, and it’s interesting how a metal, which is known to be susceptible to corrosion, can survive that long. As it turns out, copper is not one of those metals with such weakness to corrosive substances. It creates its own shield, called patina, to protect its inner layers from deterioration.

Zinc, on the other hand, is a bluish white lustrous metal, which is brittle at room temperature but quite malleable at around at 100 to 150 degrees Celsius. Like copper, this metal also possesses exceptional resistance to corrosion, which is why it extensively used for galvanizing ferrous metals to prevent rusting.

Individually, copper and zinc are packed with valuable properties, so you can imagine what the result would be like if you combine them at an ideal proportion. Of the plethora of properties they share, though, the one that brass has acquired abundantly is corrosion resistance, and to this day, most applications that utilize brass require this unique property.

What causes brass to corrode?

The corrosion resistance of brass is well-known in the world of metallurgy. This is why it is commonly used for applications that involve exposure to water, moisture, and other corrosive substances. Its resistance to corrosion, however, can only do so much. It may not become as greenish brown as other copper-based metals when they corrode but brass can easily develop tarnish on its surface.

How does tarnish form? First of all, take note that tarnish is the first stage of the corrosion of non-ferrous metals. You will know if your brass item succumbs to tarnishing when its original sheen starts to haze up. If you let that dull, misty appearance of your brass item sit for too long, it will eventually thicken up until removing it to reveal the shiny surface underneath becomes almost impossible.

Tarnish in copper normally turns into a layer of copper dioxide almost immediately after being exposed to air. Over time, this copper dioxide further corrodes and gives up more oxygen to form copper oxide. Without maintenance for many years, this copper oxide develops into copper carbonate, which then serves as copper’s ultimate shield against the elements, and this is why it can last for millennia.

Unlike copper, brass doesn’t corrode that quickly. The tarnish on its surface, whether it’s a brass rod or a brass channel, may linger and not grow thicker for a long period. Although that’s a good thing about brass, its tarnish still doesn’t look pleasant and has to be fixed. Thankfully, tarnish is very easy to clean up. If you know what causes brass to tarnish, it’s wouldn’t be so hard to deal with. You don’t have to put up with your dull-looking brass furniture and fixtures that ruin the aesthetic of your home interior. You can polish and bring them back to their shiny selves.

How to Deal with Tarnished Brass

Polishing tarnished brass is not a simple task, but it’s not too complicated either. Be it a small item like a faucet valve or a large one like a stairway railing trim, you can polish it as effectively as you would your shoes. You don’t have to hire a professional to do it for you because you can pull it off on your own using the available products in your kitchen or garage. Apart from knowing what causes tarnish on brass, here are a few tips that can help you do a great job polishing your brasses.

1. Wash the surface of your brass item with soap and water to remove any contaminants that may get in the way when you start scrubbing the item with cloth. All surfaces, even the grooves and crevices, must be free of dust and grime as they can pose some hazards on your item’s surface when they mix with your chosen polishing agent.
2. Rinse the newly washed item thoroughly to remove the lather and dislodged dirt from its surface. Any foreign material left could potentially affect the effectiveness of the cleaning process. Then wipe with a clean cloth before letting the item dry completely. You can sun dry it but don’t leave it outside for too long so the surface won’t burn up.
3. Choose between commercial polishing products and natural products. There are scores of ready-made polishing products available in your local hardware store, but check their concentrations carefully so you won’t mistakenly buy one that’s too harsh for your brass item. Sometimes, especially if you are dealing with flimsy plates or tiny rods, it’s much safer to use natural products, such as ketchup, vinegar, and baking soda. All of these have just enough acerbity to melt away tarnish without scuffing your brass item.
4. Once fully buffed, seal the surface of your brass item with a clear lacquer to preserve its sheen for a long time. This way you won’t have to clean and polish your brass item too quickly.

While these tips can surely help preserve the beauty of your brass items, there’s one way to actually avoid or at least delay the need to do them at all. That is simply to look for items that are made from high-quality brass. You have to understand that brass products come in different qualities because they are made by different manufacturers.

In case you are looking for brass supplies for construction or craft, make sure that the supplies you will purchase come from any of the established brass suppliers in North America like Rotax Metals. This way you can be sure that your materials are manufactured in the best foundry and had passed all necessary quality tests before being distributed to local markets.

Brass is one of the oldest metal alloys in existence. An alloy of copper and zinc, this metal is prized for its many valuable properties, which suited a great deal of applications even in prehistory. Development of brass, however, only took place until the post medieval period because it’s only during then when metallurgists realized that the zinc vapor that makes the production of brass possible is actually a different kind of metal and not just a gas.

During the time when brass had no exact classification yet, it is often used to refer to any type of bronze given that copper is also its base metal. It soon became clear that brass is an entirely different metal from bronze due to its distinct qualities. It has bright and lustrous yellow color that makes it look like gold, something you won’t see in bronze. It’s also harder yet more malleable than bronze.

Classifications of Brass

Like other alloys of copper, brass may come in a range of versions since its content can be manipulated. Each version exhibits a different set of properties, which is also why the benefits of using brass may vary. To avoid confusion and ease manufacturing, metallurgists came up with the brilliant idea to classify brass. They were grouped according to the amount of zinc or copper they contain. Those with higher copper content have better quality and are more expensive.

• Alpha.

  These are brasses that contain less than 37 percent zinc. Because zinc in these versions of brass only comes in small quantities, it easily dissolves into copper, which results in a uniform distribution of zinc atoms across the sea of copper molecules. The result is often a high-quality brass that is easy to cold work, weld, roll, draw, bend or braze. With more copper in its content, alpha brasses are the most corrosion resistant among the brass classes.

• Alpha-Beta.

  These brasses are a little bit tougher and less ductile or malleable than alpha brasses because they contain more zinc, specifically between 37 and 45 percent. That’s almost a 50-50 ratio with copper. One distinct characteristic of alpha-beta brasses is its almost dominant beta structure. Meaning, its grains look almost similar to pure brass. The quality, though, remains fine. To compensate for the valuable quality brass loses due to addition of more zinc, a miniscule amount of other metals, such as aluminum, silicon, or tin is added.

• Beta.

  Brasses with more than 45 percent zinc are classified as beta brasses. These are the least popular types of brass. They are too hard to be cold worked so only hot working is applicable. Due to their high zinc content, beta brasses are susceptible to dezincification, a type of corrosion that leaches zinc from the brass, leaving a porous block of copper material.

Popular Types of Brass

After many years of exploring the properties of brass, over 20 different types of brass have been created, each of which has benefited an industry or two. Here are some of the most popular of them.

• Admiralty Brass.

  This alpha-beta brass has only 30 percent zinc, making it extremely resistant to corrosion. A miniscule amount of tin is added to increase its resistance to dezincification. Admiralty brass is the metal of choice for manufacturing tubes for coolers and evaporators as well as surface plates for desalination plants.

• Aluminum Brass.

  This type of brass has 77 percent copper, 20 percent zinc, and 2 percent aluminum. The presence of aluminum makes this brass extremely resistant to many kinds of corrosion. It’s no wonder aluminum brass is often used for applications that involve extreme heat and moisture, such as heat exchangers and condensers.

• Cartridge Brass.

  The name of this brass type was derived from its main purpose, which is for making ammunition cartridges. Cartridge brasses, together with common brasses, are the most popular types of brasses available. They contain about 70 percent copper and 30 percent zinc, the standard requirement for an alpha classification.

• High Brass.

  The “high” in the name of this brass type refers to the bass’s high tensile strength. Having 65 percent copper and 35 percent zinc, high brass has just enough softness and hardness to withstand powerful tensions. This is why this brass type is preferred for making bolts, screws, and rivets.

• Gilding Metal.

  Of all the existing versions of brass, this is the softest, containing a staggering 95 percent copper and only 5 percent zinc. This makes the metal look almost like pure copper—reddish and supple.

• Leaded Brass.

  Manufacturers in the electronic and industrial field are in constant hunt for metals that have high machinability. Luckily, they found that adding lead to brass makes the latter easy to cut with a satisfactory finish.

• Naval Brass.

  Like admiralty brass, naval brass possesses an extremely high corrosion resistance, allowing it to withstand even long exposures to saltwater, which is known to be ten times more corrosive than fresh water. This makes naval brass the perfect choice for most marine applications.

Advantages of Brass

The great variety of commercially available brasses is proof that they are highly in demand across many industries and that’s all thanks to their plethora of beneficial properties. Here are some of the brass benefits you should know before you use brass supplies for any of your projects:

• Durability.

  Both copper and zinc are non-ferrous metals, and the other elements that are added to the alloy are mostly non-ferrous as well. It’s only natural that the resulting alloy when they are combined is also unsusceptible to corrosion via oxidation. Even though brass tarnishes easily, this only affects its luster and not its performance and durability.

• Anti-Bacterial Property.

  The molecules of copper in brass are capable of producing ions that attack a certain type of protein in single-celled organisms, killing them instantly in the process. This makes brass and other copper-based metals for that matter an excellent material for water filtration and sanitation systems. They are even suitable for lavatories, kitchen sinks, and other areas in the house that provide breeding ground for harmful microbes.

• Aesthetics.

  Unlike pure copper and bronze, brass has a quite attractive appearance. Its natural color is very similar to that of gold, which is why it is often used as accessories and decorative element for buildings.

When looking for brass supplies, you need to know these important facts so that you can pick the right items and find the right supplier. It’s always advisable to find a metal supplier that specializes in copper-based products because they, more than any other store, know everything about brass, including all grades and manner of manufacturing. Reputable suppliers like Rotax Metals, which have many decades of experience, are your best option for a brass and copper sheet supplier.