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I Forge Iron

Artificially aging steelwork


Greenbeast

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Been there a century or more, maintained? or unmaintained? Being that you live in england, I can't Imagine  much would be left after a hundred years without, at least some paint occasionally slapped on. If he's looking for pitted, you can just be real sloppy with your heats and achieve that as you make it. If'n you you want the "years of oxidation" etch, throw everything in to a bucket of dilute muriatic for a full night, then without rinsing toss it outside for a couple days. then neutralize, and wax( or give it a dilutated paint wash, for effect. Really it all depends on the look you are trying to achive. Hope this helps, Matt  

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I have used Auburn Rust sold by Triple S Steel.  It leaves a very nice patina.  I would still use the acid bath to remove all of the scale and then after a good cleaning use the Auburn Rust.  It has worked very well for me.  I welded a new top on a beat up Mouse Hole anvil and this is what I used to finish the project.  It is the last picture that I posted in the gallery.  I am just not smart enough to post it.  Good luck.

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looks like new rust to me; the old stuff tends to be darker.

 

If you want pitting very coarse salt sprinkled on a piece can help,  You may also want to experiment with soaking a cleaned piece in very strong tea---save all your leaves for a week or too and them boil them up for a couple of hours and immerse a piece overnight.  Mine looked "fuzzy" the next morning but when washed under a flowing tap the fuzz slipped off leaving a dark surface.

 

Also using old scrap metal that is pitted can help as is using a rough faced hammer and pitted anvil face.

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Careful, with reverse electrolysis.  It works a dandy to rust metal so don't leave it in too long!  

 

 

These are the rust-encrusted sacrificial anodes from my last de-rusting.  They look like they've been under the ocean waves for a few thousand years, and didn't get any better looking once dried!!

 

To be fair, this is the result of accumulated rust being pulled off the cathode and stuck to the anode, much like growing a coral reef.

 

 

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Sodium hypochlorite aka bleach works well to get something rusted and pitted. "Splatter" full concentration on the piece. Covering it with plastic or putting it in a bag will accelerate the process. Give it some time to work. Wire brush the piece and "mist" it over the entire piece. Let it sit again. Neutralize and lightly wire brush. Some experimentation with time and/or dilution to get the desired look, may be needed. 

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  • 1 month later...

I'm new to smithing but not to working with metal, used to do some metal sculpture and we always sprayed vinegar on finished pieces to hurry "aging" along.  As one poster mentioned coarse salt helps too, I have done sprinkled salt followed by sprayed on vinegar before, which worked well.  Vinegar's a heckuva lot more corrosive than most people think!

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For rust patina I use:

 

(16 oz)  Hydrogen Peroxide

 

(2 oz) White vinegar

 

(1/2) Tbsp Salt

 

I heat the part with a heat gun until warm and then spray the solution on.  Let dry and repeat until I get the desired look.

 

That's how I did my truss plates and strap hinges on the shop.  This picture was from a couple months ago, the metal has now gotten dark like I wanted.  I'm planning on applying oil to the steel shortly.

 

s1_zps27dfeed3.jpg

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I use reverse electrolysis and make items look like they are 200 years old in about 3 days. Get a plastic stock tank baking soda and a battery charger. Do a goog search on electrical etching. Nothing else even comes close to this method other that mother nature an she takes her sweet time.

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