How to patinate brass?

K

Kmark

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Mar 21, 2000
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Hey guys, just wondering if it was possible to patinate brass and change it to a different colour. I've said many times that I think brass is tacky and I'm considering ways to pretty-up my Kobra 22", seeing as it has brass furniture.
 
..I spend a couple of hours a week tryin' to UN-patinate the brass on my khuks :rolleyes: I've left a couple of them alone for some six weeks, and the furniture has turned brown, but without any sign of verdigris at that point. I have no idea what might be used to stabilize it at any point in it's natural oxidation. If the brown isn't attractive to you, look for Birchwood Casey's "Brass Black". This is much the same as their cold blue for steel,but formulated for non-ferrous metals, and will give you a deep, blue-black finish. If the brass is highly polished before application, it almost looks like onyx, with a blue cast. I've been eyeing the brass on my horn-handled WWII for some time. Very tempting, and a nice contrast to the horn.
 
Kmark if I ain't too terribly lazy tomorrow and I think about it I will try to get in my little workroom and see what's available in the Machinist's Bible. If it ain't in thar it probably ain't.;)

On the serious side I think there may be some recipes in the book, but I don't know if they're worth messing with for a small amount.
And they may be toxic chemically as well so it may not be worth the potential trouble for a pretty green or purple.:)
Sorta like me and Not using the small amount of Arsenic to patinate my Keris. I would love to do it, but not worth the potential risks.:(
 
I've had great results with Formula 44/40 Cold Blue. You can age brass a hundred years in seconds.

While you're in the gun shop buying the Forumula 44/40 you may notice a row of Birchwood Casey bottles, each with a different label. The large print on one says it's for steel and won't work on brass or aluminum, the large print on the next one says it's for brass and won't work on anything but brass, etc. If you read the small print you'll see they all have the same active ingredient, selenic acid. It's amazing how many bottles of stuff you can sell to the same customer if you just print up some different labels.... :rolleyes:

If you can't find Formula 44/40, and unfortunately it's hard to find; too many gun shops only carry Birchwood Casey product(s), get the Birchwood Casey Deep Blue. The label on that one says it only works on steel ... try not to laugh so hard you fall down and maybe injure yourself.... :cool: That one is selenic acid too, but it has more of it -- it's the next best thing to Formula 44/40 that you're likely to find in a local gunshop. (Formula 44/40 has even more of it, but the Deep Blue isn't bad.)

Hey, Bill -- ever think of having some labels printed up to stick on your khukuris? Sell each customer a knife for chopping pine that won't work on any other kind of wood, another knife for oak, another for hemlock ... there are a lot of different kinds of trees ... you could sell a lot of knives that way....

N.B. Stainless steels, some aluminum alloys and some high-alloy steels don't blue -- but they fail to blue exactly the same with the contents of one bottle as with another....

If brass isn't affected it's because it's lacquered -- a lot of commercial brass products have a thin coat of lacquer to prevent tarnishing and it's often so thin you can hardly see it -- but it'll come off with paint stripper. I don't think HI lacquers any of their brass, but you might find lacquer on something else.
 
Cougar, 44/40 is a good product, and, not often available, but the Birchwood labs products are not the crap you make them out to be. I've known some of the people at Eden Prairie for a good many years, and those marketing techniques aren't practiced there. While we all have our favorites, and those of us who have used them for years may have strong preferences, there is no reason to deprive those who may not have wide availability of products through overstatement of opinion. Birchwood's products are individually formulated, and the active, toxic ingredient is selenium dioxide, as it is in most bluing products, hence the warning label. The other ingredients aren't required on the label.
 
I don't mean to say they're crap. They do work, though not in my experience as well as the other brands I've tried. I have used the one labeled for brass, the one labeled for aluminum, the Deep Blue (I think that's what it's labeled, something like that anyway), and the ordinary one for steel. The law doesn't require them to list anything but the "active" ingredient and at times other ingredients of a product can affect the way it works -- but in this case, the only difference I've been able to detect in use is some are stronger than others. The stuff labeled for brass is particularly weak -- ie it works slowly and doesn't produce as deep a black. Some people might consider that an advantage but I don't. Patina on all metals rubs off very easily when it's fresh; it takes several days for it to harden. The way I do brass is to blacken it and then rub with a soft cloth or a paper towel for a minute or less until it gets the color I want, if I don't want it black.

Correction -- I found the bottle; it's not labeled Deep Blue; it's "Super Blue." The label says "Note: SUPER BLUE Liquid Gun Blue will not blue stainless steel, aluminum or non-ferrous metals." I have used it on brass and aluminum with good results, better results than I've had with the Birchwood Casey products labeled for those metals.

In my experience all the brands I've tried work if you degrease the heck out of the metal first, but some require a lot more degreasing than others, some work faster than others, and the slower ones won't produce as deep a black even with multiple applications. Degreasing can be a real pain; sometimes there are patches that won't take the blue even after thorough cleaning and you have to start cleaning all over again. Brake cleaner will generally do it eventually, with a lot of soaking and scrubbing. Formula 44/40 doesn't require all that effort to degrease and it works very fast -- just a wipe with alcohol is usually sufficient degreasing. With other brands it often takes multiple degreasings and scrubbing wtih steel wool and multiple applications even after it's degreased to get a good deep black, and often no matter how many times I apply other brands I still can't get as deep a black as with Formula 44/40.

It would be interesting if we could get a dialogue going with a Birchwood Casey representative....
 
Being an old tin can sailor I had to chuckle at this thread. On the Warrington literally thousands of hours were spent by the deck apes polishing brass. And I thought, why not a little sea water!!!!

You have a good point, Cougar. One khukuri for every type of wood known to man. For the hunters one khukuri for every type of animal. For the martial artists, one for every specific art. For the military, one for every possible opposing force, each force having a khukuri for different rank. The possibilities seem endless.
 
If you want an uneven, worn and antiqued look try putting a lemon or lime slice on the offending bright brass and leave it a while. Wipe it off, a few light brushes with very soft steel wool and instant old.
 
I've used John's lemon/lime treatment on a few "user" blades. This is one of A.G. Russell's favorite blade treatments for high carbon steel. Brass can vary greatly in porosity, and the citric acid may remain in the pores after wiping it down. If the wipe-down does not stop the process, mix a half-teaspoon of baking soda in a couple of ounces of water, and clean the surface with it, wiping dry right away. If you practice on scrap brass first, you can watch the process and stop it with the baking soda at the point it appeals to you.
 
Originally posted by Bill Martino
Thanks for more help.
Click to expand...

And those ways seem to be a lot safer and saner than anything I could get outta the Machinist's Bible I will just let it go at that.:)
 
Thanks guys, I think i'll try the worn/antiqued look instead of blued/black. It sounds pretty easy...buy a lime, slice it up, put it on the brass, polish with steel wool.
 
Don't polish it again, just wipe the citrus solution off, then a very light touching up with the fine steel wool. You may want to repeat the process till you get what you want.
 
I'll have to speak with the dust bunnies and see what method they use -- seems to work well for them.
 
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