How to clean bathroom floor grate?

[izzysedg]

Hey everyone,

These grates seem to have a corroded or developed a black covering. I have scrubbed them with a scoring pad for about 30 mins but a lot of the black discolouration is still there. 

Are these recoverable?

Thanks

 

[MitchellMc]

Hi @izzysedg,

I'd say it's just about past cleaning. You can see in the middle that the amount of cleaning needed has now broken through the silver-coloured plating of the cover, revealing the internal bronze-coloured material. So, even if you could remove the black discolouration, you'd be left with a bronze-coloured grate. It might be worth unscrewing the grate, using a couple of screwdrivers through the grill for purchase, and taking it into your closest store to see if you can find a new waste outlet with the same grill. Use the grill from the new kit to replace your damaged one. Failing that, you'd need a plumber to replace the waste outlet with a new one. 

You could sand the grate back entirely and then try to paint it, but the lifespan of a painted coating within a shower recess, especially on a floor grate, would be limited.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell

[ReluctantDYI]

Sorry resurrect an old thread but I have a similar problem in my shower.

It there any reason why a couldn't sand it back the the brass and then polish it?  The brass would look way better than the mottled chrome\black\brass it is now, I could even go for a brushed brass look. 

[EricL]

Hello @ReluctantDYI 

Yes, you most certainly could have the brass look if you wanted to. I suggest starting at 240grit and working your way up to the higher numbers such as 600grit to get a good polish on the surface. In order to get that super high polish on the surface, I suggest using a Craftright 8 Piece Drill Polishing Kit in combination with Josco SSX Green Polishing Compound. Once the brass piece is totally polished, I propose sealing it with a Dulux 300g Metalshield Brass And Copper Enamel Clear Spray. I strongly suggest putting on multiple coats for maximum protection.

If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.

Eric

[ReluctantDYI]

Thanks @EricL  I'll definitely try this out.  I already have that polishing kit from a previous project, it works wonder with Autosol.  Thanks for tip with the metal shield spray, I did wonder how long the look would last without coating it with something.