Is dark brown metal under paint copper?
Scratching away paint on a pipe often reveals a dark brown color instead of a shiny finish, leaving people unsure if the metal underneath is actually copper. This ambiguity makes it difficult to determine the actual pipe material or whether connections need to be cut out.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Scraping away paint to check the color
- 2Sanding the oxidation to reveal shiny metal underneath
- 3Checking if the pipe can be dented with a fingernail or crushed by hand
- 4Leaving the connection alone if it is not leaking
- 5Consulting a licensed plumber
- 6Replacing the connection using a proper transition donut or gasket with lead and oakum, or using a fernco
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“Is this an approved connection or should I cut out the hub and fernco?”source ↗
“I scratched away the paint in the second pic and it was this brown colour under.”source ↗
“Okay thanks but shouldn’t it be shiny if it’s copper this is like a dark brown”source ↗
“Nah it’s hard like construction adhesive!”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 5What is this random dripping exterior pipe on my house?
- 11What is the fluffy stuff in my attic and is it safe?
- 7Metal flakes in engine oil after buying a used car
- 13How to identify unknown plumbing parts in a building
- 3What is the hard crust buildup on my oil cap?
- 2How to identify unknown debris found in engine oil pan