Jenna Sue Design spent months searching for the right kitchen faucet. She wanted something with real weight to it, something that did not look or feel like cheap gold. She eventually found it on Etsy and made the call: unlacquered brass. Her words: "I chose unlacquered (raw) brass, a bit more of an investment, but I think it was the right call for the style of this kitchen."
That decision, lacquered or unlacquered, is one most homeowners and designers make without fully understanding what it means five years later. Here is the honest version.
- Lacquered brass is sealed with a clear coat. It stays consistent but eventually chips or peels.
- Unlacquered brass has no coating. It ages naturally into something that looks genuinely old.
- The patina is a feature, not a flaw. You can slow it, reverse it, or leave it alone.
- Neither is objectively better. It depends on how you want your home to feel over time.
The core difference
Both start from the same alloy of copper and zinc. After that, they go in opposite directions.
Lacquered brass gets a clear protective coat at the factory, like varnish on wood. It seals the surface, keeps it bright, and stops the metal from reacting to anything. What you see on day one is what you see for years.
Unlacquered brass leaves the workshop with nothing on it. The raw metal is exposed to everything: your touch, your water, the humidity in the room. Over time it reacts, changes colour, and develops patina. That process is exactly what homeowners and designers who love this material are actually buying.
Lacquered Brass
- Stays consistent for a long time
- No maintenance required early on
- Looks identical to the product photo
- Coating eventually chips or peels
- Fails unevenly in wet zones
- Cannot be restored, must be stripped and recoated
Unlacquered Brass
- Ages into genuine character over time
- Every piece becomes unique
- Patina can be slowed, reversed, or left alone
- Will look different within months
- Needs occasional wiping every few months
- Will not match the product photo forever
What actually happens to lacquered brass over time
Lacquered brass looks perfect for years. Then the clear coat starts to break down. In high-use areas, around a faucet handle, at the base where water sits, the coating lifts. Once it lifts in one spot, moisture gets underneath and the brass starts to oxidise, but only where the lacquer has failed.
The result is a blotchy surface: some areas still shiny, others darkened, with visible edges where the coating has separated. Cleaning will not fix it. The only solution is to strip the lacquer completely and recoat, or replace the fixture.
This is not a quality problem with any particular brand. It is a fundamental property of any sealed surface in a wet environment. Unlacquered brass sidesteps this entirely. There is nothing to chip, nothing to peel. The surface is the metal.
How unlacquered brass actually ages
"I spent months searching for the right faucet. I came up short trying to find fixtures that all coordinated and did not look or feel like cheap gold. Ultimately, I chose unlacquered (raw) brass, a bit more of an investment, but I think it was the right call for the style of this kitchen."
Bel artisanat. Credit: @lamaisondelarche_
Day one
Bright, warm gold, just like the product photos
When it arrives, unlacquered brass looks similar to lacquered: consistent, polished, golden. This is how your installation photos will look. After that, it starts its own story.
With regular use
Rich, uneven warmth. No two pieces alike.
The handles darken first because they are touched most. Over time the piece settles into something genuinely beautiful, not because it was designed to look this way, but because it lived in your home. "Not everyone gets it. But some of us are just in love with the living finish of brass. It is a romantic story."
Credit: @gleneriehouse
"It is unlacquered brass so it has no protective coating. Over time the brass will darken and patina and show wear. This living finish may not appeal to everyone, but it is great for someone who likes to watch things age gracefully."
The disadvantages of unlacquered brass, answered directly
This is one of the most-searched questions on this topic, so here it is plainly.
Real considerations
- Will look different from the product photo within months
- Needs occasional wiping every few months depending on use
- Coastal and high-humidity homes age it faster
- Green patina is possible in very wet or chemical-heavy spaces, rare but real
- Harder to keep uniform if you want it always to look brand new
What people do not mention
- You can slow aging with a wax coat every few months
- You can fully reverse patina with lemon and salt if you want
- Green patina is not damage. It wipes off.
- Solid brass under the finish is essentially indestructible
- Lacquered brass has its own failure mode that is harder to undo
"Having unlacquered brass in our kitchen has been a DREAM of mine. It is a stunning brass that in my opinion, only gets better as it ages. It is a bit of an investment BUT it is a good investment if you have saved and KNOW it is exactly what you want."
Which one is right for you
There is no universally correct answer. Here is the honest breakdown.
Choose lacquered brass if you want the finish to stay consistent for years without thinking about it, you are renovating to sell, or you genuinely dislike the idea of your fixtures changing. It is a legitimate choice.
Choose unlacquered brass if you are in the home long-term, you love the idea of things that develop character, or you have seen a patinated piece and thought: I want that. Missy Farmer, a homeowner who renovated her master suite, put it simply: "I was nervous ordering overseas, but it has been a great experience, and I could not love them more. They are stunning, and have already started to patina beautifully."
If you are still working it out, the full guide on what unlacquered brass is and how it ages answers most of the remaining questions, including a month-by-month patina timeline.
Heritage Bridge Faucet, solid brass, handmade in Marrakech
Why solid brass makes this choice matter
This only works with solid brass
Much of what is sold as "brass" is zinc with a thin brass plating. Those products cannot age gracefully regardless of lacquering. When the plating wears through, you see grey metal. At Insideast, everything is solid brass or solid copper all the way through. That is what makes the unlacquered finish a genuine long-term choice, not just a trend.
"Our unlacquered brass faucet is already showing a beautiful aged patina! Even though we still have work to finish in our old farmhouse kitchen... I walk in and all I see is this timeless beauty!"
"I was so thrilled to collaborate with InsidEast and their stunning, solid brass faucets. The quality cannot be beat. These are heirloom quality pieces and it feels so special, almost like jewellery."
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I get lacquered or unlacquered brass?
What are the disadvantages of unlacquered brass?
Why do people like unlacquered brass?
Is unlacquered brass still in style?
Does lacquered brass look as good as unlacquered over time?
If this is the finish for your home, the place to start is the full collection, handmade in Marrakech, factory-direct pricing, ships worldwide.
