Unlacquered Brass Hardware

Unlacquered Brass is polished, unfinished raw brass that darkens and develops patina as it ages. Keep reading to learn more about it along with the knobs, pulls, hinges and cabinet latches.

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Unlacquered brass hardware. Classic, timeless, yet much more difficult to find than I had dreamed, but some things are worth searching for. Raw / unlacquered brass has my heart and was worth every minute of the search. Is it normal to spend countless hours searching for just the right hinge? 

Unlacquered brass is also knowns as raw brass or uncoated brass. It can be brushed, satin or  polished, but left without a protective coating. It therefore ages over time developing a beautiful patina that adds character to new and old homes alike.

When designing our new kitchen, I decided to invest a little effort into finding the perfect unlacquered brass hardware to grace our kitchen. I love the warmth the matte finish offers and enjoy watching it turn over time.

Call me boring, but we used cup pulls in our last 2 kitchens and still love them just as much today. So surprise, we selected unlacquered brass cup pulls for our new kitchen as well.

At our last house our existing cabinets had holes for knobs, but in our 80’s kitchen we had holes for handles, so I updated them temporarily, but I’m so excited to return to knobs for the cabinet doors for a more traditional look.

We selected 1″ unlacquered brass knobs which is often smaller than what you see in kitchens, but I like the understated elegance they add to the kitchen without detracting from other features.

Hingeless cabinets have become increasingly popular, but I love the added decorative detail hinges provide. Who doesn’t love a little extra jewelry? I think a new kitchen deserves plenty of jewelry, too!

Finding unlacquered brass hinges was a bit more challenging. Almost all quality cabinet hinges are lacquered. My cabinet maker said that inexpensive solid brass hinges can be easily compromised and reminded me that it’s important to find quality hinges for durable cabinet doors that will stand the test of time.

I tried my friend Diane’s trick to remove the lacquer from brass these solid brass lacquered hinges to no avail, but these hinges are heavy and oh so pretty, and have found a home in our new kitchen. I am head over heels in love with them, which is great considering the amount of time I spent locating them!

I worried that they wouldn’t “fit” as the unlacquered brass hardware aged, but they fit in flawlessly!

I also wanted to incorporate cabinet latches in our new kitchen – I can’t get enough of them. I considered using them throughout the kitchen, but for ease of use we opted to use them just for the hutch {which will be installed after the marble counters}. It’s so fun to mix it up a bit.

You can get more details on this unlacquered brass faucet here.

I have received several questions about how our unlacquered brass hardware aged and I’m happy to say, beautifully! Well, that is in the eye of the beholder. I know it’s not for everyone. If you prefer the polished look, I would purchase polished rather than take the time to polish unlacquered brass.

The below photos are a year and a half worth of wear.

You can see where little hands reach and I think it’s oh so sweet!

Of course these can be polished and restored to look like new!

How to Polish Brass:

• Apply cleaner to surface.
• Using a damp rag, apply pressure to wipe brass clean.
• Rinse the brass thoroughly using a clean cloth.

Do you share my affinity for unlacquered brass or do you prefer a more polished look?

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This post was originally shared May 2017 and updated September 2018