Thanks.
Shot glass is WD40 outside and liver of sulfur inside.
Domed box is fumed (over night) ammonia, salt, and water.
For these items I am not worried about the areas that are not covered with patina.
If you clean better, don’t hurry, and let it fume longer the blue green will really come alive.
In doors I have been able to keep the great blues for more that a year so far.
Pat

WD40 thats new to me. Do you spray it on hot, do you protect it with wax or anything?

It is sprayed on hot (about 200 degrees) in layers and when you get the color you want spray (mist) distilled water on it. I have only done a few bronze sculptures and not sure what color ranges you will get so try it on a test piece. Once I get the color I want I get rid of the oily residue with alcohol, clear coat and then ad a Bronze Shot glass: Bronze shot glass with blue-green patina.wax.
I am planning to make a bronze bowl and I will try it out my self.
Let me know how it works on bronze for you.

Pat

Yes Ill definately give it a go when Ive got something ready.

When the time comes, try putting liver of sulfur as a base coat on half and see what the difference the color comes out. Let me know.

Pat

I had a chance to try out your wd40 technique. I applied a cold liver of sulphur until a golden colour was reached. I then swilled, heated and sprayed wd40 on. The effect was to deepen the already golden colour further to a coppery colour. A nice effect, which I will certainly remember. No pics sorry, may be able to get some tomorrow as Im doing a couple more pieces.

Try it on a high polished item with "no" under patina, clean real well first. Heat to about 200, spray on WD40 (heat spray repeat etc.) until you get the color you want and then stop with mist of distilled water. I clean the oily residue off before clear coating and waxing.

Pat

Nice!

have you done any patination of brass? Do you find it behaves the same as copper?

Also: I have no difficulty getting the blue-green patina, but have you ever succeeded in getting pale green? I have only managed that once and do not remember how :-) My record-keeping is not all it should be...

crquack

I am doing good to remember what I am working on.

I have done some brass and to me copper, brass, bronze seam to work about the same with only tonal changes. I use a lot of Ron Young’s (Sculpt Nouveau) products and have taken his classes. If you do not use his products you may want to check them out and watch his videos on You Tube.
As for the light green, like you it seems to be luck when I get it. My books tell me that it is done over a base coat, (brown, and orange) and take about five days with layering to turn out. I don’t seem to wait that long for anything and the only base I use is liver of sulfur.
When I can I will see what I get and let you know.

Pat

Depends on what you mean as a pale green. One is add some copper chloride to some white to get a toned down green. Dilute the copper chloride with more water. Application method can make a huge difference (sponge, mist, VERY FINE mist from a small air brush, etc.) and how hot the metal is while applying can make a color intensity difference. Be sure to use distilled water for all patina mixing so you really keep the ""mix" (what ever it may be) the same from season to season, year to year. More blue with copper nitrate, pale blue with addition of white, also vary the conc. of the particular material for more/less intense color. Some patinas are muted (some A LOT) when waxed and if this is so, a coat of lacquer first will often NOT mute the patina (happens very often with whites), then wax. Patrick's book (http://www.patrickkipper.com/patina.html) is the best patina book out there and well worth the money.

John Dach
MLCE.net

Patinas for Silicon Bronze by Patrick Kipper is a GREAT book for bronze patinas (and they work) and "Ron Young (Sculpt Nevau in Escondido Ca is a great source for a great number of patinas. Adding white to almost any patina can give you a pale but opaque patina. Dilute the patina, change the heat and a big one, application technique (brush, sponge and mist from small air brush sprayer((favorite of mine - need to get cheap guns as many patinas eat up the steel units, try Harbor Freight as they have specials for $4-5 at times or get expensive good guns with stainless and plastic parts that are not affected but the acids)) or just about any other "method" of application. Use distilled water for all mixing and diluting of patinas to get repeatable results as tap water changes for many reasons and there are a lot of unknown chemicals added. Whites are often greatly reduced in intensity by wax so with most whites we will lacquer the patina/piece first, then wax. Lacquers usually do not cause the white patina to "go away". Temperature of the metal can make a difference in intensity too.

John Dach
john@MLCE.net
web site: http://www.MLCE.net and ctmandalas.com

Stephen Fitz-Gerald
Dowpat,
You're not going to actually DRINK anything from that shot glass are you?
I mean,it's a beautiful patina and all,but not usable right?

Pat some very nice work and patinas. I may have to try the WD40 spray. You can also get the tan colors using ferric nitrate.
I mix most of my patinas any more. Little fun and you never know for sure if will work or not.
Here is a link to a bunch of recipes and they also sell the chemicals.
http://www.sciencecompany.com/patinas/patinaformulas.htm

For $60 bucks you can get enough to last for years.
My favorite for greens:
Cold Process Green
Ingredients
Cupric Nitrate... 40 gm [MORE INFO]
Ammonium Chloride... 40 gm [MORE INFO]
Calcium Chloride... 40 gm [MORE INFO]
Distilled Water to make 1 liter
Process
A cold process, opaque patina. Frog green results after several applications, 1/2 hour intervals. Color is not satisfactory alone. Combines well with most brown and black cold process patinas.

I will throw in a little liver of sulphur and makes the green a lots darker. Also by varing the Cupric Nitrate will change the tone of green. Here is a piece I did with some trials of fold forming and then used the green patina formula. Reds was done by using my magic solution for heat patina.
Flower box

www Metalrecipes -- heat and beat to the desired shape, repeat as necessary.
warren

Thank you for your info. I do not do much with REAL patinas for my two year old granddaughter wants to help with everything. Fire, sharp pointy things, big hammers and just about anything else.
I live in San Diego CA and work near Sculpt Nouveau, so get to talk to them often and try different samples. Even then not everything comes out each time.
Do you do any hot patinas?

Pat

Pat, that is cool that you get to try out some samples.
I usually work with cold patinas or with the metal hot. It is too hard to control the temperature of the patina, and you usually have to use up what you get hot or it goes bad.

www Metalrecipes -- heat and beat to the desired shape, repeat as necessary.
warren

You are correct. When I sell something like this I put this info with it.

(Because of the patinas this is not to be used for food or drink. If you would like one for drinking it could be made of sterling silver. Just let me know. )

Pat

I found a pale transluscent green can be acheived on bronze by applying liver of s cold until a suitable depth of colour is reached (this is not green at this stage). Then heat gently and evenly and the golden colour turns to a green colour, but if you continue it changes colour again to a purply brown then darkening to a brown/black.

I will try it on my copper and let you know.

Thanks

Pat