Speeding up "patina" on my new Maratac AA Copper?

[maury]

Just got my Copper Maratac AA flashlight - a well deserved birthday present to myself! Love the light so far, and figure that with a few years of pocket carry, it will devolep a fine copper patina. Was just thinking that it would be nice to speed up the process. I know there are several strong chemicals that do this, but don't want to take the chance of screwing up the flashlights innards.

Any suggestions on something that I can use to get 'er done?

 

[Shao]

Just got my Copper Maratac AA flashlight - a well deserved birthday present to myself! Love the light so far, and figure that with a few years of pocket carry, it will devolep a fine copper patina. Was just thinking that it would be nice to speed up the process. I know there are several strong chemicals that do this, but don't want to take the chance of screwing up the flashlights innards.

Any suggestions on something that I can use to get 'er done?

A. Remove battery
B. Tighten flashlight to seal
C. Put on some latex gloves
D. Use electronics grade alcohol (99.9% pure) and scrub the light
E. Let dry
F. Combine 1 qt. water, 1 tbsp. salt, and 4 oz of lemon juice in spray bottle
G. Careful not to touch the light with bare hands.
H. Spray light evenly with solution, let sit for 2-3 hours
I. Rinse flaslight thoroughly under sink
J. Dry flashlight
K. Repeat steps C-J until desired patina is achieved

 

[Cereal_killer]

You can also pee on it.

 

[maury]

Actually, am using hard boiled eggs. Came acorss this on line someplace. Loks like it is working! Will post photos if it does.

 

[B JACKSON]

pee works great

 

[HwangJino]

Natural patinas look bettet, but you can speed it by rubbing any acid (I prefer lemons) and coat the copper and let dry. Then wash. Repeat for more complex patina.

 

[billygoat78]

If you want a bit more uneven patina (as natural ones often appear), I'd wash it carefully with rubbing alcohol and let it dry, then place it in a cup tall enough to contain the whole light and chop red onions into little pieces (1/4" squared or smaller) and pack those in the cup around the light. Leave it for an hour or so, then see how it looks and repeat if desired. Red onions provide the easiest/quickest patina I've found on all sorts of metals, while still looking natural (not forced)

 

[maury]

Wanted to try something that did not use any caustic chemicals (or urine!). Found a referance to this on line. Remembered using something called "Liver of Sulphur" to darken copper in crafts projects way back when. Also rememebered instructions on hardboiling eggs included warning to not boil for to long to reduce the sulphur dioxide. I boiled these for 15 minutes to increase it. Here's what I got:

Before:

After:

Alcohol to clean copper, 2 hardboiled eggs, zip lock bag, paper plate.
Smash eggs in bag, place knife on plate and place plate in bag.
Seal bag.
Wait 8 hours.
Remove flashlight.
Throw away bag and contents.

So far, looks pretty good. Will see how it wears after a week or so of pocket carry.