Brass is a yellow alloy of zinc and copper used for gun cases, pipes, decorative accents, musical instruments, and home ornaments. Alloys with less zinc turn reddish and may include other metals like lead, tin, arsenic, and antimony. Brass has been produced for thousands of years and is assigned a number under the unified numbering system. It is usually lacquered to resist corrosion and should be cleaned with mild abrasives and polished with special polish or olive oil.
Brass is a buttery yellow alloy of zinc and copper that has been produced for thousands of years in many parts of the world. Its uses vary depending on the percentages of zinc and copper and what other metals have been added to the alloy to bring out specific properties, but include gun cases, pipes, gaskets, decorative accents on houses, musical instruments and home ornaments. . The color of the alloy will also vary, depending on the amount of zinc: brass becomes lighter with the addition of zinc and may reach a pale yellow stage.
Basic brass is about 67% copper and 33% zinc, making it stronger and more durable than copper, although it is not as strong as metals such as steel. Alloys with even less zinc begin to turn reddish in color and are sometimes called red brass. Other metals sometimes added to the alloy include lead to make the metal more machinable, tin, arsenic, and antimony to resist corrosion, and iron to make it harder and easier to forge.
Numerous terms are used to refer to this metal, including “cartridge brass” and “Dutch brass,” but in the United States, brass is assigned a number under the unified numbering system. All alloys are first designated by the letter C, for copper, followed by five digits which provide specific information about that alloy. If the number starts from one to seven, brass can be worked or forged, while numbers starting with eight and nine refer to metals that can only be worked by casting.
Brass and bronze, an alloy of copper and tin, have been produced for thousands of years, although brass has often been produced by accident. The intentional brass of the early days was actually made with calamine, a mineral that contains zinc. By 200 BC, China differentiated between the two alloys, and by AD 300, Germany and the Netherlands became famous in Europe for their brass. By 1746, the properties of zinc were more generally understood, and England patented the technique for producing the metal in 1781. By 1852, it had pioneered the first automatic firearms, as cartridges made from this metal alloy could expand for fill the breech of the rifle while firing and then contract for quick removal afterwards.
Commercial brass is usually lacquered to resist corrosion, as the metal is highly prone to corrosion. Caring for it in your home should take this paint into account, as you don’t want to accidentally remove it. Never use highly abrasive cleaners, as they can scratch it. If you know it is lacquered, use a special polish in very small amounts to put a thin layer of protection on the brass and polish it. For raw metal, clean with alcohol or a very mild abrasive before polishing and rub with olive oil to resist corrosion. If it does turn black, use vinegar or ammonia to remove the tarnish, or use a mixture of lemon and salt to scrub gently before polishing.
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