Metal patina question

[Rich Purdum]

I'm making a pirate chest for my grandson and want to give the metal fittings a dark grey or black patina that will last. I've soaked the plated stuff in vinegar and plan to wire brush the steel bar stock down to bare metal. Is there some home brew solution I can use? If not, are there any recommendations on something store-bought? I know Evaporust will sometimes leave a black residue which might do the trick.

I realize this is not directly neander tool stuff but I figure there is more metal working knowledge in this forum (although I did mostly hand work the wood part of the chest). Turns out it's a good first project since you want it to come out looking a bit rough (which I succeed in doing so far).

[Jim Belair]

Black Patina solution used for stained glass should work. I've never tried it on steel but it works on copper, zinc, tin. Should only cost a few bucks at a craft supply or specialty glass shop. I think it contains nitric acid.

Jim B

[Jim Koepke]

you could also try a gun shop for bluing and browning materials. Also look here:

http://www.birchwoodcasey.com/metal/index.html?gclid=COSmjJSezKYCFQUSbAodtBm-Gw

jtk

[Mike Brady]

Birchwood Casey super Blue from a gun store works well on steel or brass. This split-nut driver made from a spade bit has the blued finish.
http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee300/finefettle/splitnutdriver003.jpg

[Johnny Kleso]

Get some OXPHORO Blue from Cabelas or Brownells.

[Neal Wells]

In my blacksmithing business, I used to do quite a bit of hardware and generally used one of these finishes. First, after the piece has been forged so it has some scale, lightly wire brush it on a grinder, warm it over a wood stove (or similar) and brush it with a mixture of 50/50 raw linseed oil and beeswax. Let it dry and then hand buff it to a low sheen. You can also use just linseed oil and buff that once it's dry. I used to mix linseed oil and sand in an old cement mixer and tumble a batch of hardware to save the tedious and dangerous wire brushing. You might be able to scale the piece up with a torch so the finish will have that nice antique gray patina.

Another method, and maybe more practical for your purposes, is to lightly heat the pieces so that beeswax will flow when rubbed against it. Let the beeswax cover the whole thing, moving it around with a pair of pliers. Once it is completely covered, heat it again until the beeswax catches fire. Let it burn just until the surface turns black then extinguish and very lightly wipe with a soft cloth. That will leave a black finish which will last for years.

[george wilson]

Nice saw handle,Mike. Did you make it? Reminds me of a Harvey Peace saw I once had.

I have gotten a VERY heavy black finish by heating steel up to red,and plunging it into USED motor oil. I'll bet that dipping the part cold into used motor oil,and then heating it up to burn off the oil will leave it real black,too. The old oil has carbon in it,I suppose. If the oil is synthetic,I don't know if that would work.

[Tony Zaffuto]

Black Patina solution used for stained glass should work. I've never tried it on steel but it works on copper, zinc, tin. Should only cost a few bucks at a craft supply or specialty glass shop. I think it contains nitric acid.

Jim B

When used on copper, brass, etc., is the resulting color similar to steel? Reason I'm asking is I have a Sargent 708 Autoset plane, that had a cracked cheek. I brazed and then surface ground the plane. Works as good as it ever did, except the braze discoloration bothers me!

[James Taglienti]

I like the beeswax thing, I just tried it on a scratch awl and it left the shank a nice black. But it had to get very hot, I probably trashed the temper- do you guys know how to age /patinate / protect steel or iron without extreme heat? Maybe for chisels or plane bodies? I dont want to ruin the temper or japanning.

How well does bluing deter rust?

[David Weaver]

oxpho blue, like johnny mentions.

it probably provides a little rust protection (it's got phosphoric acid in it, I can smell it).

Hot blue probably provides more, but even then, a coast of paste wax on the noncritical parts of whatever you're doing is probably best.

I often wondered whether or not a very very light washcoat of shellac would do anything rust-wise (a thicker coat is evident on the surface of anything). On planes of mine that I intend to keep, I usually shellac the cheeks. If i ever want to take it off, I can just just subject it to alcohol, but several years ago when I did that marked the last time I had to screw around with newly lapped cheeks on a refurb plane.

[Rich Purdum]

Jim, the stained glass stuff works on steel too. I recently rebuilt a set of leaded glass windows (came out great but what a job) and used the Black Patina to "age" the lead came. Just tried it on some of the vinegar stripped hardware and it works great. Need to let it dry to see how "fast" it is. I was out earlier at a craft and hobby store and they said they had just the ticket...a product called Blacken-It. Unfortunately they were out of stock. After a little searching it seems it's active ingredient is selenium oxide (which is in the Black Patina as well). I like the idea of something less toxic so maybe I'll give the oil/wax/heat treatment a go as well. I'm not sure about the gun bluing but there is a store reasonably close that carries Birchwood Casey product. They also have a product called Plum Brown that is apparently used for older firearms to give a more antique appearance. Too many things to try!

[Jim Belair]

When used on copper, brass, etc., is the resulting color similar to steel? Reason I'm asking is I have a Sargent 708 Autoset plane, that had a cracked cheek. I brazed and then surface ground the plane. Works as good as it ever did, except the braze discoloration bothers me!

Well I just happen to have a #4 Type 11 with a brazed lever cap. Talk about an in-your-face repair! Never even occurred to me to try the Black Patina, but I just did. Doesn't blend in perfectly but works pretty well at getting rid of the yellow colour of the brazing. I'd recommend it Tony.

Jim B

[george wilson]

I have used Oxpho blue for years,though I don't want to blacken my tools. Brownell's Gunsmithing carries it. It won't make your steel pure black(more like a dark,grayish black). I used it on the barrel of my flintlock pistol in the Neanderthal FAQ section if you want to see its results.

[Rich Purdum]

Thanks to all for the amazing variety of processes and products. So it has come down to this. There are things that will result in a dark grey/blackish tint. There is also a product called Plum Brown for use on old style firearms which yields a "rusty" tone.

So now my question is, to get an authentic pirate chest iron patina, which tone would be most appropriate? Since Mr Wilson has spent more time delving in artifacts from the era when there be pirates about, perhaps he can offer an opinion? I realize this is totally subjective and also that SWMBO has accused me of becoming obsessive about this but this may be the last pirate chest I make so I want to get it right!

[Chris Fournier]

http://www.caswellplating.com/

This company "has it all" and they are pleasant to deal with.

[Sam Fan]

On some architectural projects we've used a Birchwood Casey product called Presto Black (we used the gel compound since a lot of the steel to finish was exposed structural steel, W-sections etc...). It produced a nice dark finish (not quite "none more black"). Very similar to the mill finish on angle iron etc. (sorry, I'm not sure if this is the correct terminology), but required us to oil the steel immediately after washing the gel off to prevent flash rusting.

Link to example Project (http://www.lakeflato.com/projects/armstrong%2Doil%2Dgas/#)

The existing structural steel in the project was painted black, and the new steel was finished with the Presto Black, I think they blended nicely.

[Mike Cozad]

I have restored potbelly stoves that are a combination of cast iron and steel. Stove polish will turn it black and last a good long time. This is the brand I liked the most:
http://www.efireplacestore.com/rut-70.html

[rick carpenter]

I stripped the plating off some new oldstyle door locks, then splotched them with green and gold spray paint. After that dried, I nearly completely painted them solid with flat black spray paint letting the color show itself in places very faintly. Wear and tear have added to the look.

Nothing beats real patina, but I didn't wanna wait!

[Leigh Betsch]

I bought a gallon of phosphoric acid at a farm store (used in dairy's). I keep a 5 gallon container mixed up with water. I use it to de-rust things. It will leave a flat gray / black finish if you leave your stuff in it overnight. I suppose if you mix it stronger the black may be deeper or maybe get done quicker. I left some plane irons in for a week (forgot them) they came out blue! Interesting stuff. Does a nice job of de-rusting but I suppose there are safer and cleaner products around.

[Zach England]

I did this for some door hardware once. Go to the garden store (home deopot will not have it) and get some "wettable" sulphur. Dillute a heavy concentration of it in water and soak the parts for a few hours to overnight.

[Tony Zaffuto]

I did this for some door hardware once. Go to the garden store (home deopot will not have it) and get some "wettable" sulphur. Dillute a heavy concentration of it in water and soak the parts for a few hours to overnight.

Zach, what exactly is "wettable" sulphur?

Thanks!

T.Z.

[Rich Purdum]

Wanted to let everyone know that Super Blue did the trick. There were some surfaces that would have been a problem with some of the other techniques.


Here is the result. It's very crude but I had to keep reminding myself it was just a pirate chest for a 2 year old!

http://i563.photobucket.com/albums/ss75/RichPurdum/The%20Pirate%20Chest/th_CRW_6347_JFR.jpg (http://i563.photobucket.com/albums/ss75/RichPurdum/The%20Pirate%20Chest/CRW_6347_JFR.jpg)

[Mike Brady]

Glad you liked the super blue suggestion. I am going to try a couple of others I read here. Note to whoever asked about the saw handle in my photo: That entire saw was made by Mike Wenzloff and Sons.