We ordered these taps online, sight unseen. Perhaps a little risky, but it has worked out! I was very picky in this matter and we had a limited budget, so we had to dig a lot in order to find what we wanted at a price we could afford.
I wanted raw, unprotected brass, since I've grown very, very tired of chrome, and I don't think it ages gracefully. In general, efforts to ward off aging altogether rarely do. Plus I crave the warmth of brass, and I love materials that appear to live and change like we do.
We found an Italian brand that had great styles and an incredible finish choice, Nicolazzi, and the prices were more than fair, especially for brass finish (same price as chrome, on the price range marked blue below). I find it a little outrageous how many brands charge more (a whole lot more) for a brass finish, when if you think about it all taps are brass, and the chroming is an additional step in the process.
We ordered the taps through Italian online retailer Bathroom39.com, and so far are very happy with the service.
I had only this chart as a guide to choose the finish:
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| Nicolazzi finishes. |
I doubted between raw brass and shiny brass, and by just looking at the chart raw brass looked most like what I wanted (a satin brass), and shiny looked like it'd be... well, too shiny. It turned out that I'd have less finishing work to do if I had taken the shiny, since the raw is a little too textured:
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| My desired finish vs the original raw brass. |
On the left, the washbasin tap that I've already refinished (1200 grit emery paper followed by soft brass brush with fine pumice powder) against a tap that's still untouched. Since it has just been resurfaced, the one on the left
looks colder, but it will soon darken and warm up.
So yes, I was sanding away yesterday evening while we watched a series on TV ;P
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| How cool is that? Still with original finish. Model 1401 OG. |
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| Bathtub hardware. |
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| Bathtub hardware. |
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| Washbasin tap. Here is was at emery paper stage. Model 1408 OG. |
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| Washbasin tap. Emery paper stage. |
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| Refinished washbasin tap and hand shower wall mount. |
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| Refinished washbasin tap. |
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| The raw brass finish does look a little fake in the tight spots, where a shinier finish is still visible. |
Bonus picture:
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| The camera bag is too small for you, Loki. |
