Faking age??

[TrailRat]

How can I turn brand new shiny brass screws old? I need to make them look aged to go with some recycled brass window and door fittings.

Many Thanks

TR

[David]

liver of sulphur

Dave

TrailRat wrote:

[C & S]

Eye of Newt?

Otters noses, Ocelot spleen?

[Larry Jaques]

On Sun, 29 May 2005 07:39:33 -0400, the inscrutable "C & S" spake:

It's the most common patina for bronzes.

--snip-- Jan 6, 2003

Here...

How to use Liver of sulphur By: John A. Foutz

Liquid oxidizers (Win-Ox, Silver Black, etc.) are easy to apply but are too easily removed. The chemical also tends to creep out long after the work is finished unless the piece is rinsed very thoroughly.

Liver of sulphur is the most effective oxidizer of sterling silver I know of in both cost and performance. It, unfortunately, is the least easy to apply. It penetrates and thus is the most resistant. We usually finish our work with tripoli then scrub it clean in hot soapy water with a brass brush and then oxidize. This way the areas needing to be polished can be stripped easily without having to apply pressure on the buff that may gouge out recessed areas that are intended to remain oxidized.

You can achieve an extremely good antiqued effect by partially removing the oxidized surface using very fine steel wool. Next buff the piece with a new muslin wheel without any compound. This removes the steel wool scratches. Finish by hand rubbing with a rouge cloth. This gives the piece a nice glow.

One ounce will make about a quart of solution. Dissolve the mineral in warm water. Make up only what you need at one time. Both the mineral and solution forms will stay preserved if they are kept in air tight and light proof containers. Opaque or dark brown "medicine" bottles are good choices. A yellow color tells you that the solution and / or the mineral form is still potent. A clear solution with grey flakes at the bottom means it's time to make a fresh batch.

To get Liver of sulphur to work the solution and/or the metal must be heated. Heat the solution until the first whiff of steam appears. Never boil it. Large quantities can be held at the proper temperature in a crock pot. I use plastic mesh grape bags from the grocery store to dip multiple small items. Small quantities can be heated in an old tin or aluminum can then poured back into it's air tight container. Also the metal can be continuously torch heated and dipped into a cold solution to quickly do small jobs. Never dry out or boil the solution if you use this technique. Keep it wet and dip again when steam appears.

One can tell the right amount of time to treat the metal by observing the color change. The desired effect is to achieve a solid blue-black appearance. A colorful rainbow effect means that you must do one of the following... Prolong the treatment, increase the temperature or make the solution stronger by adding more mineral Liver of sulphur.

Over heating or prolonged treatment should be avoided at all cost. Black, blotchy flakes will begin to appear on the metal's surface and the oxidization will become very difficult to remove.

Rinse thoroughly and avoid skin contact. Liver of sulphur fumes are both smelly (like rotten eggs) and toxic. Use only in a well ventilated area and never leave the lid.

--snip--

[Andy Dingley]

's a simple recipe and two less-simple recipes for simple "age patination". There are many other recipes for colour-changes on copper or brass, refs in that message.

[WillR]

I think I found the recipe to which you refer. I have not tested it -- but be my guest. Please report back to the group soonest on results...

ALL. Double, double, toil and trouble; Fire, burn; and caldron, bubble.

SECOND WITCH. Fillet of a fenny snake, In the caldron boil and bake; Eye of newt, and toe of frog, Wool of bat, and tongue of dog, Adder's fork, and blind-worm's sting, Lizard's leg, and howlet's wing,-- For a charm of powerful trouble, Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.

ALL. Double, double, toil and trouble; Fire, burn; and caldron, bubble.

THIRD WITCH. Scale of dragon, tooth of wolf, Witch's mummy, maw and gulf Of the ravin'd salt-sea shark, Root of hemlock digg'd i' the dark, Liver of blaspheming Jew, Gall of goat, and slips of yew Sliver'd in the moon's eclipse, Nose of Turk, and Tartar's lips, Finger of birth-strangl'd babe Ditch-deliver'd by a drab,-- Make the gruel thick and slab: Add thereto a tiger's chaudron, For the ingredients of our caldron.

ALL. Double, double, toil and trouble; Fire, burn; and caldron, bubble.

SECOND WITCH. Cool it with a baboon's blood, Then the charm is firm and good.

doesn't work for staining cherry though -- bit of a disaster there...