Aging with bleach!?

[aprayinbear]

Suggestions please,

I've heard that bleach is a great way to get that "aged look" so many of us are after. In his video, Hersel House boiled his barrel in heated bleach for about 30 minutes as I recall. I've heard others just wipe on the bleach and card off after a while.

What works for you and what would you suggest? I like the idea of using the bleach cold. Is that method corrosive enough to achieve the desired effect? Also, do you neutralize the bleach with water to stop the effect? And finally, Is it best to follow with some type of wax to help preserve the finish?

Fire away..... all thoughts are appreciated! Would love to see some pics.

Happy Shooting :hatsoff:

 

[rb8941]

A few years ago I bought a replica ramrod for my Martini Henry. I aged it by heating the rod with a torch then pouring bleach on it and finally rinsing it with clear water. I had to repeat the process several times to get the "age" I wanted. Today it's almost impossible to tell the rod isn't the same age as the rifle.

I don't believe cold bleach on cold metal will have any effect.

Rick

 

[Zonie]

Cold bleach on cold metal will have an effect. Perhaps more than the user is bargaining for.

When I "aged" one of my revolvers after degreasing the steel parts and sealing the bore, chambers and cylinder pin hole I put the parts into a plastic pan with some bleach.

After 15-20 minutes I removed the parts and washed them with tap water. I was amazed at what those 15-20 minutes did.
The metal was not only rusty, areas of the surface actually had pits forming on it.

I guess I didn't do a real good job of washing the bleach off because even after I oiled all of the steel parts, they continued to rust for some time.

Even diluted, bleach will attack steel parts although it takes a lot longer.

When my wife was a cat breeder she used bleach to disinfect the "cat pans" by placing them into a steel garbage can filled with water and 1/2 gal of bleach.
That bleach ate thru the galvanizing and then rusted thru the steel bottom of the can in about one month.

 

[rb8941]

I stand corrected. Thanks, Zonie.

Rick

 

[THORNAPPLE]

Use SuperBlue on the metal parts first then bath in cold bleach 10-25 minutes depending on how much etching you want. Brush the rusty crud off w/water. I usually use a wire wheel in the drill press or hand drill which leaves it shiney again, then use a little more diluted blueing rubbed in w/ steel wool to get the color you want. then oil or wax it.
Here's some results:

 

[THORNAPPLE]

Be warned when doing this...the PC police find it an abomination :nono:

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

I don't know why anyone would find fault with this. It looks beautiful to me. :thumbsup:

 

[Black Hand]

Be warned when doing this...the PC police find it an abomination :nono:

Taking the shine off and aging the gun to look 200+ years old are entirely different things....

 

[mikemeteor]

nice work thornapple !
what level of prep did you give the barrel prior to the process ?
looks like you did the lockplate and **** too - is that right ?
any reason to think the same wouldn't work on a LMF rust blued barrel ?

 

[mazo kid]

Here is a new Uberti that I "bleached":

and here are a couple of pistols, top one is mustard finished and bottom is bleach.

Some of you guys are probably getting tired of seeing these guns....

 

[tg]

Oh! NO! 200 year old looking guns :rotf:

bleach can work fsat and leave a LOT of patina I have found that naval jelly or mustard left on for an hour then wiped down to see where it's at works best for me.

Isn't it shamefull to make a gun look 200years old like this one

It doesn't look a day over 198 years old to me :hmm:

 

[aprayinbear]

:thumbsup:
Thanks guys,

The photos are great and give me some idea of what to expect. And I'm pretty new around here so I'm definitely not tired of the photos. They really help.

I've tried mustard before, but I had to leave on for a long time to get the results I wanted and the finish rubbed off too easily, but I suppose its worth trying again.

Thanks Again! :bow:

 

[Twice boom]

:thumbsup: Yep,its a shame. But when you age something age all of it and not just the barrel and locks.. :hatsoff:

Used my urine on this one and selected the right material for the scales . Then did little distortion on the pins for that 168 year old look I was after.

Twice.

 

[aprayinbear]

One more thing....... Don't care about the PC folks on this one. Lookin' for what makes me feel good. Only problem I can see with the 200 year old look is with those guys who try to pass off a reproduction as an antique. I'm sure no one here wants to cheat anyone and frankly, I take it as a compliment when a friend mistakes something I made as authentic.

When I was in the furniture business, I was asked to repair a valuable 250 year old wooden eagle statue that stood a good two-three feet high when repaired. It came to me in pieces, wings broken off, the head broken in two and several talons broken or missing. I took a lot of pride in restoring a museum quality piece of American History and I have to admit that my hat size increased a bit everytime someone said they could not recognize that there had ever been any damage.

I'd never try to pass something off as something it was not, but I take pride in creating something that gives people an honest look at Americana past.

Hats off to all you craftsmen out there! :hatsoff:

 

[pichou]

Bleach aging actually leaves a distinctive pattern that does not really look like 200 years of patina. That pattern is a good way to spot fakes... like all those hand dags on ebay. :wink:


"Open up! PC Police!"

 

[TimJ]

Anyone try spot aging with bleach? Maybe only degrease the areas you want to get a little rust and just set a bleach wetted cotton ball or rag there.
Just got me thinking.

Tim

 

[Zonie]

Boy Twice Boom!
If your urine did that to that log maybe you should get some medical help! That, or maybe you could start putting it into little bottles and selling it as an instant aging solution?

aprayinbear: Here's a picture of the bleached brass framed pistol I mentioned above.

I might add that when I did this guns finish I intentionally left the Italian Proof marks on all of the metal parts just so folks would know it was not a true antique.

 

[tg]

Most only attempt to put a bit of patina on the gun, particularly if the gun is 10-30 years older than the personas time frame they do. an original can look like it is only a few years old or like a piece of junk that is rusted and beat up due to different levels of use along the way, there is no standard to go by but ones own taste.

 

[THORNAPPLE]

Yes, you can do spot aging. Stiped aging, as in faux damascus pattern, is also possible. steel parts can be aged using bleach without bluing, but takes longer. The blue seams to accelerate the etching action.

I have never set out to make something look 200 yrs. old on purpose. But "stuff happens" sometimes :cursing:
I want my stuff to look "experienced", say 5 or 10 yrs. old and but well maintained. I think the etching gives metal a oldtime hand forged look, as opposed to a shiny stainless steel modern look.
If you see me in the woods with anything shiny...please throw some dirt on me :rotf:

 

[THORNAPPLE]

I just sent this description to one the members here. Here is my method:

I and others have discussed this method a lot over on the americanlongrifles.org forum. You should check it out.
Clean/degrease your blade. Apply SuperBlue by Birchwood Casey untill it is blue all over and let it dry. If any areas you don't want etched just don't blue that part and/or put some vaseline or grease on it. Put bleech in a plastic container that is long enough for the bade to lay down in. Lay the blade in the bleech bath and tun it over every 3-5 minutes. The blade & rifle I showed was in the bath about 25 min. Maybe a little too long. 15 to 20 min. might have been better. It will have a brown rusty scum all over it when you pull it out. Put it in a bucket of water and brush it off till clean. It will be all rusty though, so dress it down with a wire wheel till bright again. Now you can see the extent of the pitting! If you want more, repeat the procces. If not, I dilute some bluing w/water, maybe 4:1 water:bluing, and rub it on the blade with steel wool. You can make it grey or blue depending on how much you rub. Then a soapy wash and oil it.
I think that covers it. For gun barrels I made a bathtub with 2 1/2" pvc pipe cut down the middle w/caps on both ends, glued some legs on so it doesn't roll over with bleach in it. Always use rubber gloves!
Hope this helps-good luck!





--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rediscover Hotmail®: Now available on your iPhone or BlackBerry Check it out.