Scrapping Brass For Cash? What You Need To Know

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Are you getting into scrapping metal for cash and want to know more about brass? Here is some important information that you need to know so you don't make mistakes along the way.

Know Where To Find Brass

Brass is a material that often is difficult to spot because it can have paint or chrome plating on it or it can be covered in a layer of patina. But from threaded hose connectors to faucet heads, the material is used in so many places that it will be very easy to run across it when looking for scrap metal. Even electrical plugs are made of brass on the part that plugs into the electrical outlet. If the item involves electrical or plumbing, it likely uses brass. 

Know How To Identify Brass

Brass often hides in plain sight due to plating that is put on top of it. However, you don't want to make the mistake of picking up a bunch of chrome-plated plastic pipes. The best way to identify brass is to take a grinder to it, which will cause the metal to spark. If you do not have a grinder, you can take a metal file to remove a small portion of the plating to see what is underneath.

Know The Types Of Brass

There are two main types of brass that you will find out in the wild: clean brass and dirty brass. However, this is not based on the physical dirt that is found on the item. Dirty brass is considered brass that has other materials still stuck to it. Think of a plumbing fixture made of brass, which has plastic snap rings stuck to it. You will need to remove those plastic pieces for it to be considered clean brass.

Know When To Clean Brass

Why spend the time to remove other materials from the brass to make it clean? Because scrap yards will pay around twice as much for clean brass. That said, it is not always worth it to clean up brass material. If it takes you a significant amount of time to make a $2 piece of brass into a $4 piece of brass, it will be much more time-efficient to throw it into the container of dirty brass and focus on the bigger pieces that are worth more. You need to know when it is not worth your time for the amount of profit that you'll see.

Contact a scrap metal buyer for more information.

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