Looking for painting advice to mimic aged brass

[BingoMaru]

Hello smarter-than-me people! I’ve got this beautiful Santa Claus buckle in the highest polished brass, and I’d like to knock it back a bit with paint. I don’t want to age it chemically in case I ever want to reverse it and keep my shiny brass. So any suggestions on techniques or materials? Thanks!

 

[lmgill]

You can do it chemically, then polish back to bright at any point.
Edit:
Although, looking closer at you photos, the bright one looks gold plated, the color is not what I would expect brass to look like. If so, you would need to paint it.

 

[Captain Dunsel]

Agreed—-just subject it to an ammonia vapor session to give it a patina.

Brasso, or any other metal polish, will remove the patina and restore the shine.

 

[BingoMaru]

Thanks guys. Appreciate the advice. When I get back home I’ll give it a shot.

 

[Rogviler]

One note is that if it's truly polished brass, it will most likely have a clear coating on it to prevent tarnish. This would have to be removed to achieve a true patina. If it's simple lacquer then acetone or lacquer thinner should do the trick. If it's more like an automotive epoxy then that can be tough and you'll probably have to resort to paint remover.

 

[Moviefreak]

Or just avoid chemicals and patinas and paint it. You can strip the paint off if you decide to go back to shiny.

Just buy antique brass spray then once dry, hit the high areas with a gold or brighter brass rub-n-buff.

 

[simiouno]

Buy a spare and use brass ageing fluid after removing varnish as said above...then you've got what you need when you need it !