Patina: Forced or Natural? Commercial or MacGyver Style?

We have been playing around with the BLF copper A01 in that thread and got a bit off-topic by experimenting with ways to force the patina. So I figured we could benefit from a new thread dedicated to the subject and open it up to other metals and models.

Some love the natural patina developed over time(months, years, decades) while others fight any and all tarnish with lacquer or climate controlled safes.

I learned of a trick to hasten the development of patina on my A01 and really like its effect.

My wife hated this stuff and I had put it in the dispenser out in the garage. When I saw it mentioned online, I found it was still there. I just got a glob and started rubbing it into it. As it started to dry, I rinsed it off and applied more. After about 2 hours of flashturbation….patina fina. As I understand, it’s the sulpher compounds that do the tarnishing.

Palmolive® Original ingrediants
Ammonium lauryl sulfate
Ammonium laureth sulfate
Magnesium sulfate
sodium bisulfite

Either way, the patina is a natural reaction and will occur without any effort… All we do is speed it up with the different methods…

Maintenance to keep the copper clean will have to be regular and can actually be a nice routine in and of itself.

I like the palmolive patina, and most baby shampoos have the sulphates as well… I have neither and so will make a trip to the dollar store soon…

Word of the day: Flashturbation!

I’ve started work on this Ultratac K18 brass. Needs a bit more TLC and burnishing with newspaper and finger rubbing, butt I kinda like its shipwreck character.

I hung it by thread in the top of a Dasani water bottle with a few inches of cider vinegar, capped it, and swirled the vinegar a few times a day. After a day and a half it was looking kinda Statue of Liberty green in places, So I decanted and applied Palmolive for awhile.

Looks nice!!!

I tend to use chemically forced methods

Birchwood Casey brass black.

Look great, butt dangerous. Isn’t it illegal to carry a pipebomb and a hand grenade? :wink:

Yeah, but i’m an outlaw. :wink:

@Chinooker Thanks for the tip. I’m trying Ajax dish liquid since the sulfates are common ingredients in dish detergents. Already seeing the color start to change after just a few minutes. Also applied to my daily use copper zippo that is very slow to develop a patina even after a few years of daily use. Both were cleaned with brake fluid, lighter fluid, and isopropyl to remove any protective coating.

Acetone I think was the consensus choice for easiest removal of the coating.
I used naval jelly, just because had it handy.
Be sure to post your results.

Navel jelly? Like for your belly-button?

Well, iffn it’s rusty in there? Go for it.

Well, I think I’ll stop here on the K18 brass. Looks to be my new Keychain light. Knocking the Rey Tool Ti off to backup duty.


I kinda lost my bling on that one, ehh?

No sir, Rustic Bling is still bling…

Now I know what I will do with my Brass K18 when I get it…

Gave up on the dish liquid on my copper blf a01 due to concerns about toxicity of CuSO4, cleaned it thoroughly, and switched to baking soda and water. Roughly 2 parts very hot water to 1 part baking soda. With the battery removed and head screwed down tight I tied a string through the keyring hole, set the light in the bottom of a sour cream container with about 2 inches of the baking soda/water mixture, swished it around and gently flipping it in different directions using the strong, then removed it from the mixture and stood it on a plastic lid. I repeated the process every ten minutes or so and occasionally gently rinsed the accumulated dry baking soda off by immersing the light in fresh water before starting the process again. After several hours the copper achieved a nice brownish color a bit brighter than an old penny.

A picture paints a thousand words mate……

@scrumpypaul I plan to post a photo of the light with a new penny and an old penny after the sun comes up to get a photo that accurately represents the results.

cool - look forward to seeing it.

Did an Astrolux SC recently. First I removed the coating (and cleaned/degreased) with acetone and a soft nylon brush. Then I hit it with some vinegar (mini spray bottle) and sea salt and sealed it in a Tupperware container. I taped over the heat-sink, and later polished it up:

Freefly - that is lush. Makes me want to buy one……

Here’s the patinated A01 with a new penny and two with different levels of patination. New photo taken today in sunlight.