ArtMetal

I just read an older blog entry about patinas and there were some comments about sterling and the general idea that one could really only get grey to black. I'd like to share a different perspective.

By varying the concentration of the LOS mixture and also the temperature of the mixture, one can get reddish colors - brown, and also blue to purple. Adding ammonia helps achieve the brighter blue and purple color. Here is a picture of sterling done in this manner: Here you can see some of the different colors. From red, to blue and the irridescent quality.

This is the after pic (after about 7 mos in a drawer, NO sealant on it)

its definitely lost a bit of color...If I had sealed it with wax or krylon I think it would look almost identical.

 Here is the reverse side with no flash on camera:
 and the back 'after' picture:

(retained more of the color)

This pendant was colored using day old LOS soultion that had faded to a weak yellow/straw color. To that I mixed straight ammonia. I painted the room temperature mixture on with a papertowel very lightly, wiping dry, then applying more,then wiping dry until I achieved the colors I wanted. The nice thing is if you go too far you can take it off and start again. :)