Article: If your brass-plate is lacquer-coated, you may have reason to want to remove it. Cracking in the lacquer can lead to tarnishing on the surface beneath the coating. The best way to remove lacquer is through boiling.  Place the item in a pot filled with the water. The pot should not be aluminum. Add a couple of spoonfuls of both washing soda and baking soda. Boil the item. You can either boil the item until the lacquer comes off, or you can heat it up enough that the brass expands, then let it cool. Once it cools, the lacquer should be easy to peel off, since it won't shrink back like the brass does while cooling. Lacquer thinner will also remove the coating if you'd like to take it off your brass-plated item. Rub the thinner in. Keep rubbing until you see the lacquer coming off the brass. If your brass-plated piece tarnishes easily, you can use oils to help prevent that. On a clean, dry item, rub in a little linseed oil or mineral oil. Use a soft cloth to prevent scratching, and only apply a thin coating.

What is a summary?
Take off lacquer by boiling. Remove lacquer with a lacquer thinner. Use oil to prevent tarnishing.