The torch removed most of the Sharpie resist and concentrated one dot of it on each place where it had been (which couldn’t be removed with alcohol). So we decided to heat (Blazer micro-torch) the copper piece and re-dunk it in the test solution. It was supposed to create a light green patina, but we didn’t see much effect. Then the pieces were heated to 200 degrees F in a klin. We then moved to the garage for the tests that involved the chemicals we had purchased.Ī straight LOS/water combination to get a medium brown tone on the pieces first. The pieces had an aged vintage bronze tone (except for the brass piece that I think had a coating on it). We both loved the rich brown colors achieve by test 3. We determined that the brass disks must have a coating of some sort on one of their sides because we consistently got one side that took to the patina and one side that seemed resistant (which reminds me that, along with clearning your piece prior to patination, sometimes light sanding is in order also). Most sealants will dull bright patina colors (we used Renaissance Wax and you can see the results at the end of the blog). Here’s the revers side of the copper piece. In this close-up of the bronze spiral, you can see the rainbow of colors we got. The colors ranged from vibrant reds and yellows to warm browns and cool shades of purple. Test 2 (supposed to produce a blue patina) Notice how the shading varies from the outer to the inner spirals. Here’s a close-up of the rich patina on the spiral. This ended up being the only piece where the resist left a dark effect. A warm patina with reddish undertones.Īfter neutralizing, we dipped a q-tip into alcohol (plain household rubbing alcohol) and removed the sharpie marker resist. We numbered our paper towels so that the results and the tests could be kept in order and we kept notes along the way (along with photos). Rinsing with water may not be enough to stop the process. Your pieces can continue to darken if you don't use this step. This alkaline bath arrests the patination process. We had a bowl of plain water mixed with baking soda as the final dunking place for the pieces. That's why I prefer to have a weak solution of LOS and just take my time. Sometimes if you go too fast (if the patina darkens too quickly) you get a coating of dark patina that flakes off. You can also just have a bowl of plain water handy for the same purpose.Ĭontinue dipping to increase the intensity of the patina, but if your reaction goes faster than anticipated, your piece can darken past where you wanted it. We ran tap water over the piece to check the progress. We immersed our pieces for 1-3 seconds then lifted them out to see the reaction. You can keep the bowl on a heating pad or mug warmer. The paint brush was used to get the LOS gel (using the butt end of the brush to dip) The mixture is opaque so a "dunking basket" could come in handy to be able to find small pieces. Solid LOS (dry chunks) that you mix with water as needed.Īnd premixed gel LOS which I think is the easiest and lasts the longest (a little goes a long way).ġ measure of liver of sulfur (dip a plastic knife or popsicle stick, etc about ½ an inch) Premixed liquid (easy to find at bead shops), but it's easy easy to use it up fast. LOS (liver of sulfur) comes in three forms that I know of (and have used). And use protective gloves, goggles, respirators, and aprons. As Elizabeth wisely reminded me, never add water to an acid always add the acid to the water. That being said, I will still mention some basic warnings. Liver of sulfur recipes with household ingredients was our starting point.Īlthough I’m sharing with you our methods and results, keep in mind this is not instructions or a tutorial. We used a Sharpie marker to create resist patterns. Some pieces were given an alcohol bath (shown) and some pieces were cleaned with Penny Brite (a copper cleaner that is basically citric acid and soap). So we had three metals to experiment with. I had some copper shapes… and a few brass disks. A couple of years ago, a friend and I got together to test out some patina recipes.Įlizabeth made a batch of bronze wire spirals that we would be using as testers.
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