Patina Recipes

April 16th, 2009 WendyLee

Whilst wandering around the internet I came across this website that has some great patina recipes to colour various metals.

Its worth checking out.

Patina Recipes – Science Company

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Jax – Green Patina

April 14th, 2009 WendyLee

The simplest and quickest way to get a patina on metal is to use a commercial Patina. Not only is is quick and easy its also a lot easier to reproduce the colours in your work.

The solution I used for this one was JAX- Green Patina. All you have to do is make sure your piece is clean and dry and them brush on the solution with a soft bristled paint brush. You will notice as you are brushing on the solution the metal will start to go dull, this is the solution reacting with the metal.

I set the piece aside to dry overnight and let it react a little more and this is what I got!

Jax Green Patina on copper

The patina was put on a roller printed piece of copper and the colours are so vibrant and bright!

The finish is a little powdery on the surface so I wiped it back with a soft damp cloth. Not sure sure how durable this finish will be although I think I will have to seal it to try and hold the colour.

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Rub n Buff Metallix Wax

April 12th, 2009 WendyLee

I purchased a couple of tubes of the Rub N Buff to have a go at colouring roller printed metal and to see what diiffernce the colours would make as opposed to using enamels and paints.

I purchased the Patina and the Ruby and rubbed them onto a piece of roller printed Brass.

I found the rub n buff very easy to use and as they were a a little grittier in texture they stuck to the metal alot better then enamel paints. When you buffed back the top layer the wax that was in the recesses of the metal stayed there. As opposed to the enamel paints they can peel off.

With this medium being a wax based product I don’t see that you need to seal the surface.

I think there is alot of options for this product to be used with metal and incorporating into my jewellery making to achieve some great colour effects without having to use nasty chemicals.

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Shibuichi – Patina

April 11th, 2009 WendyLee

I have been playing with adding colour to metals using various techniques and methods and trying to see which ones i like the best to use at a later date.

This is the piece of shibuichi that I reticulated a while a go. I had filed back the peaks to reveal the copper and then left it in some water for about a week until the water had evaporated. There was also another piece of copper in there as well. I might also point out that I had left them in there by mistake this was not realy apart of the experiment but I really love the colours that appeared.

The colours that came out in this piece were so strong and vibrant. I don’t know how durable this finish will be although it is not coming off with me rubbing it with my finger.

The colour that appeared in this piece are very similar to those that you get when you fume Shibuichi with apple cider vinegar.

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