![]() ![]() Here’s a close-up of the rich patina on the spiral. This ended up being the only piece where the resist left a dark effect. A warm patina with reddish undertones.Īfter neutralizing, we dipped a q-tip into alcohol (plain household rubbing alcohol) and removed the sharpie marker resist. We numbered our paper towels so that the results and the tests could be kept in order and we kept notes along the way (along with photos). Rinsing with water may not be enough to stop the process. Your pieces can continue to darken if you don't use this step. This alkaline bath arrests the patination process. We had a bowl of plain water mixed with baking soda as the final dunking place for the pieces. That's why I prefer to have a weak solution of LOS and just take my time. Sometimes if you go too fast (if the patina darkens too quickly) you get a coating of dark patina that flakes off. You can also just have a bowl of plain water handy for the same purpose.Ĭontinue dipping to increase the intensity of the patina, but if your reaction goes faster than anticipated, your piece can darken past where you wanted it. We ran tap water over the piece to check the progress. We immersed our pieces for 1-3 seconds then lifted them out to see the reaction. You can keep the bowl on a heating pad or mug warmer. The paint brush was used to get the LOS gel (using the butt end of the brush to dip) The mixture is opaque so a "dunking basket" could come in handy to be able to find small pieces. Solid LOS (dry chunks) that you mix with water as needed.Īnd premixed gel LOS which I think is the easiest and lasts the longest (a little goes a long way).ġ measure of liver of sulfur (dip a plastic knife or popsicle stick, etc about ½ an inch) Premixed liquid (easy to find at bead shops), but it's easy easy to use it up fast. LOS (liver of sulfur) comes in three forms that I know of (and have used). And use protective gloves, goggles, respirators, and aprons. As Elizabeth wisely reminded me, never add water to an acid always add the acid to the water. That being said, I will still mention some basic warnings. Liver of sulfur recipes with household ingredients was our starting point.Īlthough I’m sharing with you our methods and results, keep in mind this is not instructions or a tutorial. We used a Sharpie marker to create resist patterns. Some pieces were given an alcohol bath (shown) and some pieces were cleaned with Penny Brite (a copper cleaner that is basically citric acid and soap). ![]() So we had three metals to experiment with. I had some copper shapes… and a few brass disks. A couple of years ago, a friend and I got together to test out some patina recipes.Įlizabeth made a batch of bronze wire spirals that we would be using as testers. ![]()
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