I'm new here (who do I see about a raise?) and have a question that I hope this group can address.
I cut a new doorway into my upstairs, even found an old gumwood door to fit. Found a pair of old glass doorknobs that match the rest of my house.
The problem is the brass (probably plated) surround plate, and the striker plate. There nice and shiny and I need for them to look 60 years old, sort of a tarnished green like the rest of the house.
I know enuf to strip the lacquer first, but then what? How do I artificially age the thin layer of whatever it is to look like (almost) antique brass?
Try downloading David Marks materials list for his 100 Series shows. He made a cooper top table (#111) that he patina(ed?) the copper. Here is the link to his site:
Yeah, piss on it is the oldest trick in the book. Piss on it, then let it dry. Repeat. It doesn't work if you just let it sit in a jar of piss. It's piss + air that makes the magic happen.
It doesn't really work that great IMHO, and surely there must be better solutions. Like polishing all the old brass in the house and shining it up already. Brass is supposed to be shiny dammit!
searched Google for COPPER PATINA and found that there are chemical solutions available from stained glass suppliers that will give you the look you want. There was a DIY website that had you mix a bunch of different chemicals to make a patina solution, but warned that the solution was rather toxic.
There have been anecdotal comments about beer produced urine hastening the process (as noted by the many helpful comments). The sulfides and sulfates in the beer are what is reported to cause the reaction.
If you want that bright green-blue copper sulfate look, you can quickly achieve it with a dilluted solution of sulfuric acid. You can get sulfuric acid at your paint center or hardware/home improvement store ... it's sold to etch concrete floors. If you haven't worked with acids, I would not recommend this process. Also, Copper Sulfate is a poison, don't eat the pretty crystals ( and they do look good enough to eat!).
If you want a brown patina, try soaking in vinegar overnight, then wash and dry.
For the amount of copper you described, you may be best served by visiting a stained-glass shop and ask their opinion. If you bring a piece you are trying to match, they'll be better able to point you in the right direction.
You want either horse piss (the feed has an influence, but I don't know quite what) or the piss of a pregnant woman collected in the morning. Cow is useless, and pig is too hard to collect. Surprisingly my references fail me on the efficacy of sheep or donkey. Failing this, buy some strong .880 ammonia, as that's the active ingredient.
Then _don't_ dip the brass in it. Instead you put it in a sealed plastic box full of wood shavings (clean dry softwood) with the liquid at the bottom, and you let the _vapour_ do the work. Actual liquid contact will give you a blotchy finish.
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