Need a Bronze patina formular

K

Ken Hurst

Joined
May 29, 2009
Messages
217
Okay guys, in a recent thread re. Bronze , there was some discussion about using this metal as a handle on a Bowie that will be built. A member was kind enough to forward me two sample pieces of bronze for testing, one was alum. and the other was sil. bronze. I just finished inlaying a short gold border & engraving both pieces & am in search for a do it yourself home made formular that will give a pitina to the metal. Pourpose of this exercise is to see how well the engraving & gold inlay will stand out. Can anyone here help me with this ??? Results will be photographed & published on this forum. May thanks for any possible help.
 
household amonia will give it some color. another good choice would be the antique patina from reactive metals studio.
 
I'm pretty sure Birchwood Casey's Brass Black works on Bronze - I know it works well on brass and copper. It doesn't really turn the brass a black color, my can turns it a very very dark brown.

I set it in the sun for a few hours before using it, because I think it works better when it's heated a bit. (I also do that with my FC before etching blades.)
 
I've patinated si. bronze with Selenic acid, or cold gun bluing from Birchwood Casey. Not sure about al. bronze.
 
Ken, Don't expect much with the alum bronze. You'll have better luck using the silica bronze. I was going to heat color some last year. After I melted it I changed my mind and went with my usual wrought iron.
 
That's pretty funny Ray. I think the heat in the hot patina processes isn't quite as robust as a blacksmith's forge! Gentling warming the piece should suffice.

Bronze patination is a vast subject. There are entire books, if not libraries, dedicated to it. It kind of depends on what your goals are, such as colors and texture, etc. Do you want greens, blues, reds, oranges, browns, greys or black? The brown/grey/black range might be easiest to work with. Liver-of-sulfur is something a silversmith might try. It is commonly used to darken non-ferris metals (such as sterling). Ferric chloride would be a natural for bladesmith to try. It is a common ingredient in many recipes, as is ferric nitrate.

Good luck Ken. I really look forward to seeing your photos. I enjoy working with silica bronze and hope you found it engraves satisfactorily.

All the best, Phil
 
Thanks all for your help. PHIL, I hope to accuire a light hand worn brown such as seen on bronze handrails at public buildings. Not to dark, just enough so that the gold inlay will standout but not be flashy. I do have some ferric chloride & will cut it 3/1 and see how that works.Oh yeah, I got my best engraving results with Si. bronze, could really cut some fine lines with it.
 
Permablue cold bluing works well, available at wal-mart.

Make and keep the batch of ferric chloride you use for the bronze separate from the ferric chloride you might use for damascus. It will contaminate it and put a bronze wash on anything else you put in it.
 
WildGoo-009_Knife_Sheath_2.jpg

The guards and ferrules are Naval bronze I got from Tai - the patina is Birchwood Casey's Super Blue mixed 3 to 1 with muriatic acid. I've tried several agents and IMO this works best for that real old "gold" hand-worn bronze look. It also works on brass - You may need to apply several times to get just the right look, but then again I've found that's common with patinating agents.......the image is a bit on the bright side -they are a bit darker and not so glarey in person........
 
Chuck,

Would that be C90300... Naval G bronze?
Like this:

C90300 (Tin Bronze)
Chemical Composition
(%max., unless shown as range or min.)
Cu(1) Al Sb Fe Pb Ni(2) P(3) Si S Sn Zn
Min./Max. 86.0-89.0 .005 .20 .20 .30 1.0 .05 .005 .05 7.5-9.0 3.0-5.0
Nominal 87.5 - - - - - - - - - 8.3 4.0
----------------------------------------------------------

This was copied from a chart and I'm not getting how to make it line up. Starting at "Min./Max." and "Cu(1)", the elements and percentages are in order. The "Nominal line shows Cu, Sn, & Zn, only.

Mike
 
MIKIE --- All I can tell you is the samples are Alum. Bronze and Si. bronze. The Si. bronze has a rosier color whereas theAlum. bronze appears more gold/brass in color. I prefer the Si. bronze for cutting & inlay work & hopefully it will turn out a nice light brown patina that the gold will standout against.
 
Oh, I'm so glad to hear the silicon bronze engraves well and look forward to seeing your studies!
 
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