This image shows perfectly, how brass castings can vary from one batch to another.

All the parts were stripped, polished and plated in nickel in exactly the same way, but due to impurities in the raw material on the left tap, the refurbishment was floored. (This was probably due to additions in the normal mix of copper and zinc, such as tin, lead or aluminium. These additional metals are sometimes added to make the materials easier to work with, or more resistant to oxidisation.)

The plan is to now strip this one piece and using a high-build copper plating technique to fill in the holes, to get the 100% grade that we always desire. Perfection sometimes takes a little longer…

Keith – 07583 406 571