How to Care for Your Products

Maintaining your hardware requires care adapted to its individual finish. Hamilton Sinkler treats its finishes as follows: 

Protected Lacquered Finishes: Brushed Nickel, Satin Brass, Antique brass, Bright Antique Brass, Black Nickel, Pewter, Polished Brass, Burnished Antique Brass, and Burnished Brass Tinted Lacquer.

Polished Nickel and Burnished Nickel are lacquered within the Revival collection and cabinet hardware.

Unprotected Finishes: Oil-Rubbed Bronze, Polished Brass Unlacquered, Burnished Brass, Bronze Patina, and Polished Nickel and Burnished Nickel from the Metropolitan collection.

Resilient Finishes: Polished Chrome and Dull Black.

Custom Finishes: For clients requesting a custom finish, this will be categorized as Protected

Lacquered, Unprotected, or Resilient at the start of the project.

 

Protected Lacquered Finishes

Applying a premium lacquer product followed by a baking process protects the finish from tarnishing and fingerprints.

 

To maintain the look of the hardware:

 

  1. Use a soft cotton cloth with warm water to wipe the surface gently.
  2. Wipe again gently with another soft cloth to dry and remove moisture and water stains.

 

Optional: If the lacquer develops light scratch marks from usage then these can be diminished by

applying a wax coating. We recommend Wäxx by Flitz. See below for full wax instructions.

 

Unprotected Finishes

 

All patinated, unlacquered finishes:  Hamilton Sinkler supplies finishes intentionally unprotected by any lacquers, waxes, or other anti-weathering agents. These finishes are intended to weather over time depending upon the environment where the hardware is used. The effect of weathering will also depend on the frequency of use and cleaning agents that contact the surface of the metal finish.

 

To clean the surface of this finish please do the following:

 

  1. Use a soft cotton cloth with warm water and light soap to wipe the surface gently.
  2. Wipe again gently with another clean, soft cloth to dry and remove moisture and water stains and allow to dry naturally.

 

All other unprotected, unlacquered finishes:  Hamilton Sinkler supplies its unlacquered finishes intentionally unprotected by any lacquers, waxes, or other anti-weathering agents. These finishes are intended to weather over time depending upon the environment where the hardware is used. The effect of weathering will also depend on the frequency of use and cleaning agents that contact the surface of the metal finish.

 

To bring the surface back to its original condition please do the following:

 

  1. Use a metal tarnish remover (by Flitz) on a soft cloth and rub into the surface gently.
  2. Wipe again gently with another clean, soft cloth until cloudy residue is removed and the surface is tarnish free.

 

If you want to preserve a polished, untarnished look then use a wax protectant to slow down further tarnishing.

 

Resilient Finishes

 

Resilient finishes are ones that do not weather and do not require protection.

 

To clean the surface of this finish please do the following:

 

  1. Use a soft cotton cloth with warm water to wipe the surface gently.
  2. Wipe again gently with another soft cloth to dry and remove moisture and water stains.

 

Wax Protectant

 

Wax protects the finish from tarnishing, light scratches, or abrasion. This wax coating, however, will only last for 6-12 months depending on the environment it is used in.

 

To reapply a wax coat, we recommend a product called Wäxx by Flitz. This is an environmentally friendly solution, formulated with a blend of white carnauba and natural beeswax that is Silicone free, so it does not dull, will not leave any white powder, and will provide the ultimate in UV and rain protection.

 

The wax protectant can leave a dried stain from the packaging when pre-applied.

This should be rubbed with a dry cotton cloth once installation has taken place.