If you can find a direct replacement letterplate with all the same dimensions and bolt centres then that is a fair comment. Unfortunately there is sometimes no eqivalent size available, and when you factor in the cost of a joiner to tailor in the new letter plate renovating the old one may make sense.

@@DoorfurnituredirectCoUk absolutely! I wanted a black letter box plate to replace a brass one that I have to polish regularly. Getting one the same size is impossible and getting one fitted is mega bucks… so I’m painting mine,

Tarnish is only a very thin layer of corrosion which does not damage the brass and actually helps to preserve it. Some people like the effect and leave it this way but it can look unsightly when parts of the item look bright where the lacquer is good and other parts look tarnished where it has broken down. I doubt it would have done any harm to your door knobs, if you remove the lacquer and leave it that way you can get an antique patina effect where the brass looks lighter where handled and darker in other areas. You may prefer to leave the lacquer off if you want that to happen, but if you prefer the brighter look then re-lacquering (or waxing) will help to maintain that look for longer. Personal choice and no harm experimenting.

It kind of depends on the type of lacquer you have on your item or the possibility of paint at the edges. We generally found that the Nitromours worked on very old lacquers whilst the brass restorer was fine on newer lacquers - it says on the Nitromors can "removes paint, varnish and lacquer". You could skip the Nitromours step and give it a try. Sometimes the Nitromours softened up the lacquer so that the brass restorer worked better but important to get all the old lacquer off. Lacquer can become porous after time and the brass will tarnish underneath and spread from just a pinhole.

It was an "air brush". You can get kits which are not too expensive, just google the term. You may need to thin the lacquer down to spray it.

Super fine grade 0000 is available in the UK for polishing metals and ought to be available in the USA. We have it on our website here: www.doorfurnituredirect.co.uk/liberon-grade-0000-ultrafine-steel-wool-250g.html

+henry tortoise Hi Henry, Yes an interesting point, although their instructions suggest the new formula is just as good. The lacquer is primarily removed with the Brass Restorer but I think there is some validity to the point that the Nitromors can "soften up" some lacquers to make this stage easier. I guess it's down to how resistant your particular lacquer is to Nitromors.

Trey Whitegoose hows about sandpaper