I finally got an actual brass bike bell. Love it, but it's too pristine looking. I know that over time it brass will tarnish naturally, but does anyone know of a method to speed up this process. Seems like there would be some kind of simple chemical type thing one could do. Anyone know?

If you Google "Inducing patina in brass" you might find something helpful.

Your bell may be varnished... if that is the case, you'll have to remove the varnish first... then any acid can start the "aging process." Vinegar or lemon juice are both acids.

In my experience, just touch it a lot for the first few weeks you have it. It'll tarnish up soon.

Pee on it.

Don't come near my bike...

I've had mine less than a year and the shine is gone. Didn't do a thing to it.

Thanks. I think I'll try all of the above, even the pee thing. It's a Portland Design Works (PDW), King of Ding bell. It came connected to a nice clamp so you can put it on your handlebar, but I simply unscrewed it and it screwed right into my downtube boss! I think it's a great utilization of an otherwise unused boss since I run 1x9.

That IS way too shiny. You better send it to me. I'll tarnish it up for you, free of charge. The tarnishing process will take about 10 years, but it is worth the wait.

I have no idea where you live or who you are so your bike is safe.



Or is it?

it is possible that the brass has a lacquer finish to keep it from tarnishing. You can use Brasso to polish the finish off. It will be very shiny when done but will tarnish pretty fast. There may be a better way to get the lacquer off but that is how I did it when I was in the army for the brass buttons on our uniforms.

i think in college, Military college that is, we used finger nail polish remover to remove the layer covering on brass. It would tarnish pretty quickly if you did not brasso after that.
probably better to do OFF the bike.

Liver of Sulphur Liver of sulfur - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia is one of the Chemicals to patina that sort of Metal, Brass.

Down tube is a pretty inconvenient place for a Bell, I'd Say, I have mine by my Thumb, or along the quill of my Stem.

As some may know, I'm an anti-bell man. But I understand if others like 'em. It's kinda funny that you want a bell, but you don't want it overly attractive or shiny. We're not so different. I want a bell that's unseen, and you want a bell that's less seen. We're practically twins!!!! :-)

You "golden showers" types make me nervous...

I went to a military college also. That's why I had to click on this thread. I'd guess many veterans and/or military school alumni with extensive brass polishing experience will drop in for the same reason.

We would pour a spot of brasso on a towel and then rub belt buckles, buttons, and insignia on it to remove the laquer from brand new brass. Once the laquer was gone, we used the same method to maintain the shine from then on. We used Cutex fingernail polish remover on a Q-tip to clean out the dried Brasso residue that would get inside the belt buckles. We called the residue "green grunge", because the Brasso that would remain on inside corners would turn a greenish-grey.

OP, if you're going to try polishing the laquer off that bell so it will tarnish much faster, definitely do it away from the bike as mentioned above, and take the brass dome off if possible so you don't get "green grunge" in and around the spring, lever pivot, etc., unless a little grunge will help with the look you're after.

I use to think bells were about the stupidest things you could ever put on a bike...now I love them, but only certain bells and only on certain kinds of bikes. I'm a mega bike snob, so if we're twins then it's nice to know that someone else in this world has waaay perfect bikes like I do. I also used to think full wrap fenders and Brooks saddles were kinda dumb. Now I feel like I've entered into a new world of a completely different kind of bicycle happiness, and it's certainly better than the juvenile bicycle ways of the past.

Yeah, I suppose that's the same reason a lot of people don't like downtube shifters, but believe it or not there are people who prefer them there, kinda like my bell.

If one did that on the bell, it would likely produce a different finish.

Clean off any varnish with Berryman's B12 carb cleaner. Get it at any car parts store ore Wally World. Careful--- it'll strip paint. Scrub it lightly with baking soda, and rinse it well--- wear gloves to keep the oil from your skin off it. Then, swab it with vinegar& salt or ammonia & salt. Wrap it in paper towels soaked with either solution and put it in a tupperware container for a few days.

Wow thanks Needles, sounds like you totally know your stuff on this! I'm going to try your formula as soon as I get around to buying some Berryman's....The peeing on it hasn't done anything so far, it just beads right off. After I do it like you said, I'll post a pic of the results.

Long ago I worked part time in an antique store. There are very few real antiques...

Beat me to it.

Hey, I don't blame you.

Actually: ammonia & salt. You COULD just pee on it, I guess. (After stripping the varnish.)