the key to all these colours is perfect cleanliness up to the moment of heating .... I often heat with the surface wet with well water on the surface but I have also used urine or dilute nitric .... the latter can create interesting drip and run lines.
The other key is electropolishing, my daughter did about 20 samples for her science fair and we concluded that the best range and durability came from electropolished and acid washed in a closed oven. If the piece is small then the best even colours come from an electric kiln or glass blowers annealing oven.
on larger pieces we use a technique where gold is achieved initially and other colours dragged in after .... this gives a more vibrant depth .... sometimes on large surfaces I will heat and cool several times to increase depth.
as you know, silver stainless is naturally covered in a protective layer of chromium oxide ... the colours are simply a visible version of that oxide layer which is very tough.
there are more exotic metals in 316 which yeild a greater range of shades.
as for the folding ... most is done cold for more control ....stainless can be annealed by fast cooling but I find that the surface retaines less dirty oxide if we slow cool.
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colours durability
very long lasting - see blog comment
the key to all these colours is perfect cleanliness up to the moment of heating .... I often heat with the surface wet with well water on the surface but I have also used urine or dilute nitric .... the latter can create interesting drip and run lines.
The other key is electropolishing, my daughter did about 20 samples for her science fair and we concluded that the best range and durability came from electropolished and acid washed in a closed oven. If the piece is small then the best even colours come from an electric kiln or glass blowers annealing oven.
on larger pieces we use a technique where gold is achieved initially and other colours dragged in after .... this gives a more vibrant depth .... sometimes on large surfaces I will heat and cool several times to increase depth.
as you know, silver stainless is naturally covered in a protective layer of chromium oxide ... the colours are simply a visible version of that oxide layer which is very tough.
there are more exotic metals in 316 which yeild a greater range of shades.
as for the folding ... most is done cold for more control ....stainless can be annealed by fast cooling but I find that the surface retaines less dirty oxide if we slow cool.