You need to first strip off the lacquer that's there, then commit to polishing (or a new lacquer job) for life. The black stains may be an interaction of the lacquer wearing and being exposed to the environment, but once you get rid of it, you'll be starting new.

The black marks could be from pin hole defects in the lacquer coat, or rusting if the underlying base is steel.

If you really want it to look like new you can check into having it re-plated.

Call places that sell brass beds. They usually know of someone who re -plates brass.

Hello to all and thanks for the responses.. I have been doing a little more research. First off, I did locate a person in my area that does brass replating, but after talking with him, it seemed that his services would be much too pricey. He quoted approx. $400 to replate my baker's rack! Ughh. I only paid $50/$60 for this rack back in 1995. My goal was too just replace it with a new one and I went into literally every website that has brass racks and no one has it in polished brass.

I also ordered a product that is supposed to refinish brass and I realize taking a chance, but I figured I'd at least try it and see what happens.

Not sure what else to do.

I had a similar problem with a brass plated table lamp.
What I did was clean it well with laquer thinner,
(lots of ventilation, very flammable!). Then I sanded
it with 400 grit sandpaper and then cleaned it again
with the laquer thinner. After that I sprayed it with
an aerosol paint that was labled 'gold' color, which
actually is closer to brass. After a few coats, I
sprayed it with a clear aerosol spray. It's not real
shiney, but it looks pretty good and got the approval
of DW.