Fun with Chemistry... If you are making Rustic work, do you put on hinges that are shiny brass? No. You take some lacquer thinner to remove the thin protective coating, scrub them with steel wool, and then put the hinges in a plastic bag with common household ammonia. Don't breathe it and don't get it on your hands. But the ammonia wasn't the only fun I had with the hinges. I beat on them first with a waffle faced framing hammer. The results are much more interesting than what you see in the package.