原创 Best way to age brass: New book tells all

Based on this, someone was kind enough to recommend an old book called Machinery's Shop Receipts from 1927 that contains "six hundred useful receipts, compositions and formulas," including ones to color and etch brass.

I ordered a secondhand copy of Machinery's Shop Receipts and I was as happy as could be. Surely nothing could occur to make me even happier? Well, amazingly enough, something could, because a reader shared this:

I just found a book in a local bookstore called: Patina: 300+ coloration effects for Jewelers and Metalsmiths by Matthew Runfola. It looks like it just came out in February of this year. I found it on the shelf at a Books-A-Million but it is available on Amazon. It is organized by metal (Brass, copper, silver, etc.) and contains page after page of pictures of metal samples and a description of the treatment that was used to get the effect you see. The pictures can't give you as accurate a look at the effects as having a physical sample, but you could find a few that you like and test them yourself.

Good grief! It appears as though I've gone from being a single voice in the wilderness -- wading through cow poop and horse doo-doo all on my little old ownsome -- to finding there are others like me out there (well, perhaps not quite like me LOL). I immediately bounced over to Amazon to visit the Patina: 300+ Coloration Effects for Jewelers & Metalsmiths page.

I'm a great believer in real-reader reviews, and this book currently has a 4.5 star rating from 24 reviewers, which is more than enough for me. A typical review might say something like "This book has everything in it that an advanced metal artist might want to know about the process and use of patinas on steel, stainless steel, aluminum, copper, brass (230 and 260), bronze (220 and 655), and sterling silver."

As you can imagine, this is music to my ears. I currently have a copy of this little beauty winging its way to me as we speak. Meanwhile, I just started a new aging experiment that involves leaving a piece of brass exposed to the elements. Unfortunately, access to the roof of the building in which I have my office involves me performing a "human fly" act on a very dubious external ladder (I will be showing pictures in a future blog). Until then, please keep your comments and questions coming.