Will, very nice, I like the idea of just a subtle critter here and there. I do that too in some of my work. Little surprises if you look close.

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

Thanks Jake- no the finish is galvanized and etched....butI must admit it's not looking quite as i hoped. there's a kind of white bloom keeps coming up on them - I was thinking I might have to wax them or lacquer them if it persisted...but actually the customer seems happy so I'm saying nothing!!
As I was making them I thought they could look really cool with a good paint job...but I wouldn't fancy being the one to do it....or get them delivered and installed unscathed!
There's always the option of brightening them up in the future though.

Hi Will, love the panels. It must be nice to have a client who can see past the bland railings to be seen all over. Was the etch "T-Wash"? I have never got round to using it,where do you get it? Can you get different effects depending on time exposed?
David

Hi,
Yes I used t-wash. It is surprisingly hard to find! I now get my paints from either Firwood Paints or NWE Paints both of whom supply T wash ( about £16.00 / 5ltr I think)
Firwood also do a good black eggshell paint I use as my standard top coat. NWE are one of the few I can find to supply Black Micaceous Iron Oxide which is a great looking and effective topcoat.

I haven't perfected the art of controlled etching yet, but what I do is water down the Twash by 50% or so and brush it on liberally. If you're going to paint the work, as long as it's gone dull grey it's good to paint as soon as it's dry again.

If you want to leave an etched finish, you can go back over the work with more twash to darken to taste...But...my big learnin from this job has been that you then need to seal the finish as soon as it's dry with some kind of clearcoat to prevent white powdery stuff from forming on top. The more erudite metallurgists and chemists out there will probably tell me exactly what's happening!

Will Jones

Thanks for that info Will, as I think "T-Wash" is acid does it need to be neutralised before sealing or painting?
re powdery stuff: sounds like some kind of reaction from the zinc.
David.

It's amazing how little info. there seems to be on this...I too have been concerned about neutralizing the acid in the past, and have been in the habit of rinsing with clean water after etching...but following problems with the finish on these railings I talked to an old blacksmithing buddy of mine with a lot of experience of galvanized work and he said he never rinses or neutralises it, and that doing so may be even promoting the white bloom. ( I have come across the odd reference to deposits of "salts" on etched work when it gets damp).
Hoping someone else may jump in here and educate us both before I say something really stupid!
Will Jones