Metal · Care Guide
Chrome
A micron-thin mirror over base metal
Maintained As
Plated & Decorative Metal
Polished to mirror-bright, or brushed to a fine directional satin.
Durability
Everyday resilience
Good, but the plating or lacquer is thin. Once through it, the appearance changes permanently.
In the Collection
5 pieces
Every piece we carry in chrome, cared for the same way.
About This Material
Chrome plating deposits an extremely thin layer of chromium over a nickel-plated metal base. It is the plating that gives the brilliant reflectivity and the corrosion resistance, and at only microns thick it is the reason no abrasive should ever touch it.
How To Spot It
A bright blue-tinged mirror finish, noticeably cooler in tone than nickel or stainless.
Warm golds and browns in brass and bronze; cool reflectivity in chrome; light matte grey in aluminium. Lacquered pieces hold their colour; unlacquered ones patinate.
Specific To Chrome
Once pitted, chrome cannot be repaired — the steel beneath is corroding and only re-plating will fix it. Keep it dry and never use an abrasive.
At A Glance
How it holds up
Each bar shows how well chrome resists that stress — five means it shrugs it off, one means it is the first thing to damage the surface.
Typically Used For
What It Does Well
- Brilliant mirror reflectivity
- Hard, bright and easy to wipe
- Classic mid-century register
What To Accept
- Microns thick — abrasives go straight through
- Pitting is unrepairable
- Shows every water spot
Daily Care
The everyday routine
- Dust with a dry soft cloth.
- Wipe fingerprints from polished surfaces promptly, as skin oils mark them.
- Keep the surface dry.
- Establish first whether the finish is lacquered: a lacquered finish is only ever wiped and dried, never polished.
Deep Cleaning
Step by step
- 01 Dust thoroughly first.
- 02 Wipe with a barely-damp cloth and a drop of mild washing-up liquid.
- 03 Rinse with a second damp cloth and dry immediately and completely.
- 04 On lacquered pieces, stop here. Polish is not just unnecessary — it will cut through the lacquer.
- 05 On unlacquered brass or bronze you wish to keep bright, apply a dedicated metal polish sparingly, then buff off and finish with a microfibre cloth.
- 06 A thin coat of clear paste wax on unlacquered metal slows tarnishing considerably.
Safe To Use
- Mild washing-up liquid in warm water
- Dry microfibre cloths
- Brass or metal polish — on unlacquered surfaces only
- Clear paste wax for unlacquered metal
Never Use
- Metal polish on any lacquered finish — it removes the lacquer in patches
- Abrasive pads and powders, which cut straight through plating
- Ammonia, which causes stress cracking in brass
- Bleach and chlorine cleaners
- Vinegar and lemon on lacquered pieces
Stain Removal
Lift it without making it worse
Blot rather than rub, and test any treatment somewhere out of sight first.
Barely-damp microfibre, then dry and buff.
Brass polish applied sparingly and buffed off, or a paste of lemon juice and salt for light tarnish. Wax afterwards to slow its return.
This means the lacquer has failed locally. Polishing makes it worse and patchier. The correct repair is professional stripping and re-lacquering.
A 50:50 white vinegar and water solution on a soft cloth, then rinse and dry immediately.
Mild washing-up liquid on a damp cloth, rinsed and dried at once.
The plating has been breached and the steel beneath is corroding. Not repairable — the part needs re-plating.
The green deposit is corrosion, not patina. Remove gently with a soft brush and mild soap, dry thoroughly and wax.
Prevent Damage
What actually causes the harm
- Moisture
- Dry promptly. Standing water drives tarnish on brass and pitting on chrome.
- Skin acids
- Wipe handles and pulls regularly. Fingerprints etch unlacquered brass into visible dark patches.
- Abrasion
- Never use an abrasive on plated metal. The plating is measured in microns.
- Ammonia
- Keep glass cleaner away from brass fittings — ammonia causes stress corrosion cracking.
- Humidity
- High humidity accelerates tarnishing markedly. Wax unlacquered metal in damp rooms.
- Outdoor exposure
- Unlacquered brass and bronze will patinate quickly and unevenly outdoors. Chrome pits in salt air.
Never Do This
Damage that cleaning cannot undo
Each of these changes the surface permanently.
Polish on lacquered metal
It cuts through the lacquer in patches, leaving a blotchy surface that then tarnishes unevenly and can only be fixed by stripping the whole piece.
Ammonia or ammonia-based glass cleaner on brass
It causes stress corrosion cracking in brass — fine fissures that cannot be repaired.
Abrasive pads and powders
Plating is only microns thick. Once through, the base metal shows and no polishing will bring it back.
Bleach
It corrodes and discolours all of these metals.
Assuming brass is unlacquered
Test somewhere hidden first. Polishing lacquered brass is the most common and least reversible mistake made with this material.
Repair
Putting it right
Polish sparingly, buff, then wax to slow its return.
Professional stripping and re-lacquering. Partial fixes always show.
Re-plating, which is a specialist job and often uneconomic on small hardware — replacement is usually better value.
Tighten gently by hand. These threads are usually into softer material and strip easily.
Fine scratches may buff out with chrome polish. Anything through to the base metal needs re-plating.
Maintenance Schedule
A rhythm worth keeping
- daily
- Dust and lift fingerprints from handles.
- weekly
- Wipe with a barely-damp cloth and dry.
- monthly
- Inspect lacquer for wear at high-touch points.
- quarterly
- Polish unlacquered metal and re-wax.
- annually
- Assess whether any lacquered piece needs professional re-lacquering.
Where To Put It
Indoor placement
Everything depends on one question: is the finish lacquered or raw? Establish that before you clean anything.
Site It Like This
- Test in a hidden spot before polishing anything at all.
- Wipe handles and pulls regularly — skin acids etch unlacquered brass into dark patches.
- Wax unlacquered brass and bronze in humid rooms to slow tarnishing.
- Keep the surface dry.
Not Here
- Ammonia and ammonia-based glass cleaner anywhere near brass.
- Abrasive pads on any plated finish — the plating is microns thick.
- Polishing a lacquered piece, which strips the lacquer in patches.
- Damp bathrooms for unlacquered brass unless you like a fast patina.
Weekly Care
The five-minute routine
Wipe with a barely-damp cloth and dry.
Then monthlyInspect lacquer for wear at high-touch points.
Common Questions
What owners ask us
Look at where hands touch it. Unlacquered brass darkens at those points and stays bright elsewhere; lacquered brass stays uniform all over. If you are unsure, test a polish in a hidden spot — on lacquered brass it will leave a visibly brighter patch, which tells you to stop.
The polish has cut through the lacquer in patches, and those bare areas now tarnish while the rest does not. Polishing more makes it worse. The proper repair is professional stripping and re-lacquering of the whole piece.
Ammonia causes stress corrosion cracking in brass — fine fissures through the metal itself, not just the surface. It cannot be repaired. Keep ordinary glass cleaner away from brass fittings.
No. Pitting means the plating has been breached and the steel underneath is corroding. Only re-plating fixes it, which is often uneconomic on small hardware.
It depends. An even dark brown patina is protective and desirable. Powdery green verdigris is active corrosion — remove it gently with a soft brush and mild soap, dry thoroughly, then wax.
It settles into a deep amber-brown and then changes slowly, staying warmest where hands fall most often. That living patina is the reason to choose unlacquered in the first place.
Lifespan & Ageing
How it will look in ten years
With Proper Care
Fifteen to twenty-five years, and re-platable or re-lacquerable after that.
With Poor Care
Three to five years before patchy lacquer and worn plating become the dominant impression.
How It Ages
Unlacquered brass and bronze are meant to darken — a living patina, warmest where hands fall most often. Lacquered brass and chrome are meant not to change at all, so any change is wear rather than character. Knowing which you own determines everything about how you look after it.
Chrome Specifically
Should not change. Pitting and flaking are failures rather than patina, and both trace back to moisture or abrasion.
Not Sure
We will check it for you
If you are unsure which material your piece is, or you have a mark you would rather not experiment on, tell us the piece and what you are unsure of; when we reply, you can attach photographs.
Ask us