Brass faucet dull, yellowed

[Dan Hartung]

This is an old porcelain base sink with hot and cold faucets, which were "new" fittings in the 1970s. There was some build-up on one which I was removing with a soak in CLR, but I got distracted and left it in longer than I intended. The faucet now has a dull, flat yellowish sheen instead of the slightly chrome shine of the other one. Is this a matter of polishing, or have I permanently discolored it? It doesn't look like it was really chromed, just brass all the way through. It's only really noticeable when they are both polished with Brasso as I just did for the holidays.

[Richard J Kinch]

Sounds like you etched the mirror finish. Ugh. You could get it back with a series of fine polishing compounds and a lot of effort.

[Gini]

== FWIW--The OP might wish to check the faucet for lead before putting too much effort into restoring it. Lead was used in brass faucets until 1997. Test kits are available at well-stocked hardware stores. ==