How To Age Metals

[9945]

I have a CVA Hawken with some God awful gaudy brass furniture.....I'd really like to just find a way to replace it all with pewter or German silver.
oes, anyone know how or, can tell me where to find info on aging the different metals,ie, brass, steel, etc?

 

[tiger955]

To age or dull the brass on a TC Hawken, I take a used, dirty cleaning patch with powder residue on it and wipe the brass. Repeated applications will make it darker. If you swab the bore between shots, save the dirty patches in a ziplock bag to keep them wet, and wipe the brass after cleaning the gun.

 

[Zonie]

That's probably the safest way to 'age' brass.
Birchwood Casey makes a product called 'Brass Black' that will form a black color on brass parts.

The only problem with it is it is very thin and easily scratched.

Another way to 'age' brass is to expose it to ammonia fumes for a day or so. Notice that I did not say expose to the ammonia solution. That doesn't work.
The part(s) should be suspended above the solution so that only the fumes can get to them.

A word of warning about aging brass with ammonia.
This can produce micro-cracks in the surface that are too small to see but if they are there and the brass part is bent it may break.

 

[William O.]

I heard that plain old yellow mustard ages brass quite nicely, anyone heard that as well?

 

[wattlebuster]

Now thats a new on me

 

[mazo kid]

Now thats a new on me

Yeah, me too. I know it will "age" steel parts as I have used it for that. Curiosity got the best of me, so I am now running a test on a piece of brass. : :idunno: hmm:

 

[slumlord44]

Let it sit out in the weather for a year or so?

 

[mazo kid]

Curiosity got the best of me, so I am now running a test on a piece of brass. : :idunno: hmm:

Well, I applied the mustard to a scrap piece of brass, renewed it twice in 8 hours and my conclusion is.....mustard does NOT darken brass! It didn't do much of anything actually, may have dulled the shine a tiny bit but that's all I could see. Best way to darken brass is to use the black powder bore cleaning patch idea or just let it age naturally with use and time.

 

[Capt. Fred]

I'd go with the powder residue or amonia fumes. Both have worked well for me.

 

[William O.]

Now thats a new on me

Yeah, me too. I know it will "age" steel parts as I have used it for that. Curiosity got the best of me, so I am now running a test on a piece of brass. : :idunno: hmm:

Maybe I was confusing it then, but thought I heard that it works on brass but apparently not.

 

[atki]

I age brass spots, buckles and other do dohs with this method. Get an aluminum pan. Not one of the thin aluminum foil things, but at least a good pie pan. You will only be able to use the pan one time so don't use anything your wife wants. Put the brass part in it and pour Clorox bleach in the pan to cover the part. Don't use the Clorox with the good smell, just good ol' Clorox. Do this outside. After a few minutes things start to cook and spit and foam. You need to move the part around once in a while or it will stick to the bottom of the pan. After awhile all the foaming and heat stops. Pour out the Clorox and rinse.

Or there is the old fashion way, leave it out in the weather for a month.

wb

 

[Arrowhead]

Oxpho Blue will add some age to it and is easy to do.

 

[LRB]

Dicropan T-4 is even better.

 

[J.M.]

I like to age brass using this method. Buff brass lightly with 0000 steel wool, then clean/degrease brass to get any oily residue off. Wipe brass with cold blue solution, which will immediately turn it almost black. Let dry, then gently buff again with 0000 steel wool, go slow and stop when the color/appearance is to your satisfaction. I like the appearance of brass done this way, it gives a pretty good patina and holds up well.

 

[hoochiepapa]

acquafortis.

 

[KentuckyBlacksmith]

Aging steel I can help with. Cold Blue and bleach. Finish your steel down to 400 grit or so and clean. The coat with cold blue, one coat is enough. Then submerge in bleach. Within minutes it will be covered in rust. Different ammounts of time gives a different appearance. Clean off the rust with a wire wheel or scotch brite (pad,belt etc) and oil real good..In this pic you can see an aged hawk

 

[Dances With Coyotes]

Heat for brass? I soldered a piece of round stock to a new brass tube for punching out panlubed boolits and noticed the brass wasn't shiny anymore and had a old look to it. I wouldn't let it get to hot though, just a nice even application.

 

[wayne1967]

Since the subject was brought up, is there a way to dull or give a aged look to german silver? I know it doesn't have any silver at all in it so it doesn't seem to tarnish.

 

[paulvallandigham]

Dampen a small amount of black powder, and dip a cleaning patch into it. Then wipe the german silver with the mix. Let it sit, then wipe it off. It will generally leave dark shades around the edges. The more sulfur in the mix( like using Mustard, with both a mild acid( citric) and sulfur), the darker the German Silver will become.

To reverse, and return it to its bright shiny state, use any copper cleaner( Bartender's Helper is my favorite of late), or just mix citric acid( vinegar, lemon juice, lime juice, orange juice, apple juice, cranberry juice, etc.) and SALT, and wipe the surface with the mix. Give the salt time to work. You can't add too much salt to the acid. :hatsoff:

 

[wayne1967]

Thanks.