Finishes for Metal

I've seen a finish on many products here that have a very 'steely' appearance, and was wondering how to achieve it. It's not the bluey colour that you get after it comes off the forge, but it is somewhere between black and silver. Any idea how to achieve this? I'm thinking a quench in vegetable oil or maybe some form of etching. The attatched photo is sort of what I mean, but this is a more polished example. First of all, how do I get a blackened finish? And second, how do I get a more metallic one like the one pictured. I like how it looks refined and finished, but also definitely looks forged and rustic.

I've made a nice fire set and people are starting to ask about buying my work. Up until now I just spray my stuff down with a light weight oil, but I would like to use a better and more uniform finish for paying customers. So I'm going to start using linseed oil, mineral spirits, & Japan drier but I'm not sure how to get the nice even black color & luster. Oxy Act torch with no oxy to soot the work? Green wood fire? What's the best method?

So I decided to give etching a try. The goal here was to etch a design into a plain piece of steel. The particular piece of steel was a belt-end for a costume my brother is working on. I am using Beeswax as a resist, melted onto the piece of steel; I then use a scribe to scratch in the design. For the acid I am using Muratic/Hydrochloric acid from Lowe's. (I think it says something around ~30% concentration) For the first test, I tried the acid diluted, about as much water added as acid. After an hour, nothing appeared to be happening, so I added some Hydrogen peroxide (the diluted stuff in the brown bottle). After about another hour, we removed it from the acid, ri…

I'm in the middle of building a hanging pan rack, the main frame is riveted together already and it's only been wire-wheeled. What can i apply at this point that will make it rust resistant hanging in kitchen?

Is there a way (short of dipping it in silver nitrate) to make steel look like silver? More white, I mean. Steel by itself is always more grayish.

Hello all, I’ll be doing some demonstrations at shows over the next few months and, being new to this, want advice as to the best 'instant' finish to put on newly-forged items. Usually I give my work a good wire brushing and then coat the decorative stuff in Renaissance Wax and the eating stuff in a food-oil. At shows I’m not going to have time to brush as thoroughly as usual, so I want a fast, attractive finish. I’ve done a search but haven’t found anything specifically on ‘instant’ finishes so please advise on what you think is suitable to go on a briefly brushed item and at what sort of heat it should be applied. Thanks in advance. G.

Hello all, I stumbled over "Iron Oxide Patinas" heat applied, which seems to me kind of a enameling process. Question: how exactly to do it and what kinds of oxides to use? Who has experience with this process? If you are not sure what I am talking about, here is a link to a shop which actually seems to do it: http://www.artfactory.com/door-grill-hand-forged-patina-finished-gvg12-p-5002.html Have a nice day, Andreas

Hi, Does anyone know about using a dilute acrylic polymer for quenching? I've heard a little about it being used in bladesmithing, but have no resource. Any thoughts? Thanks, John

I just finished a wind chime hanger that is riveted to a piece of 1 inch square tubing about 6 feet long. I was planning on sandblasting the entire project before moving on to painting, but ran across rust oleum's rusty metal primer. All the metal is hot rolled so even the parts that didn't get heated have mill scale on them. Has anyone tried this product on mill scale? I have the equipment to blast it down to bare metal, but if using this primer can save me a step it would seem like it is worth a shot. Thanks

Hello team, I have seen articles on how to color / patina metal for jewelry made from brass, copper, and silver. Does anyone have any recipes or instructions on how to color various steels and iron? Here is an example of a blackened blade with white patina accents that I like the look of. http://zombietools.net/images/weapons/zombie-tools-vakra-kukri-new-600.jpg Does anyone have any insight?

I've had a small can of black Gilder's paste for over a year and only used it once but I don't think it was in the usual way it is used. I added a small amount to my usual beeswax, boiled linseed and mineral spirits mix to give it a slight darker finish. The mix gave a dark see through finish that was actually pretty cool. Anyways, I know this is not the way it is meant to be used and would like to know how some of you that have had success with this product are going at it. Do you mix the paste with thinner ? other mixes ? How thick do you make your mix ? It is quite dry in the can and seems it would be hard to get it to spread nicely especially in hard to reach …

What can I do ? I have finished my piece of work, wire brushed it including using a twisted cup brush on an angle grinder to remove as much scale as possible, brought it to a black heat and applied a wax finish. The colour is perfect but, I can still see too much scale for my liking. What can I try next to rectify this situation ?

Hello all, I am currently making a palisade type railing which has a distressed hammerd texture. Having shown the client a sample that I had wire brushed he would like a finish close to that. It rains a lot here in Blighty so they need to be painted or galvanised or both. I'm worried that the galve will hide the finner details of the texture such as the pitting caused by the fire and the more subtle hammer marks. I have heard you can mix graphite powder in with the paint but I'm unsure of the quantaties. Any thoughts on this are more than welcome

I am trying a 1/3 linseed oil, 1/3 mineral spirits, & 1/3 beeswax finish on my pieces and find that they are very "sticky" afterwards. I am applying the mixture with the metal hot (black heat) and buffing when it cools. Seems awfully "sticky" when I'm done. Am I doing something wrong?

Hello. I'm looking for a home, surface nitriding technique, if that is possible. It's more for a durable surface coloring system, than a hardening scenario. I know they do that for high end plumbing fixtures and such, but in a million dollar vapor deposit chamber. Any cool ideas out there? Thanks.

I like to occasionally apply a little metallic wax on a piece to bring out certain details and for a long time, I was able to buy a little, 8-color kit from the local Hobby Lobby but they have stopped carrying it. The kit was small and had a couple colors I seldom used but it was convenient and the price was right. Anyone know of a good source?

Has anyone here played with enameling on their forged steel pieces, such as leaves etc.? If so how did you do it?

In reviewing some of the older threads, I notice that several folks have mentioned they use black stove polish as a finish for their iron work. I have, in the past, actually used it on an old stove, but never on my iron. Is it applied to hot (black heat) steel, or does it go on cold? Could it be successfully be sprayed with a clear-coat of clear enamel? I am finishing a piece that will see semi-outdoor exposure (partially covered patio type area). I want it to look like black iron, as in bee's wax or linseed, not opaque paint, but be able to withstand a bit more exposure. Any ideas are welcomed. Don

Hi, guys! I'm trying to get the linseed oil-beeswax-turpentine-Janpan drier finishing for indoor items. I used plain beeswax and linseed oil-beeswax finishing before. Now another two stuffs in my hands? THANKS for your informations!

Does anyone use Paste wax such as Minwax Paste Finishing Wax or Johnson's Paste Wax or a combination of wax and other ingredients on hot metal? I tried the Minwax on a forged leaf as an experiment and it worked nicely. Just wondering if any of you have had any experience, good or bad, with it. BTW, this finished project will be an indoor item... Thanks, Scott

Hi, me again. i have a setup that is fairly good for me. i forge outside and store my forge and anvil in a garage. however it has no space for my collection of scrap that looks useable. this leaves my metal on a big rack outside. For the things that are already rusted to the point of no return i dont mind this so much BUT i do have some respectable pieces of metal. My question is this: would coating my metal in some smoke from my coal forge fire prevent rust to any extent?

I just wanted to know is there a way to add a red coloring to the roses i am making, there are made of mild sheet steel. Is there a chemical or something or some way of making this happen..?

I'd like to humbly ask for help in tracking down a (somewhat)specific alloy,it's finish,and also,if possible,a reputable craftsman or a shop capable of executing the work itself. A very old and dear friend has tragically passed away.Her family has asked my help in finding someone capable of casting/fabricating a plaque that will be mounted into the memorial bench at the cemetary. The required plaque needs to be oval,approx. 12" by 6",and be dark grey in color. The material needs to be SS or Ti(as i believe that both can be patinated grey,although it is very far from my area of expertise). Both Cu and the Al alloys are not an option,for a number of reasons. The in…

I've seen many hot and cold bluing/blackening formulas, but all that I tried have not worked out. Well i guess my question is, what blackens steel without tarnishing/discoloring copper, brass, nickel silver, or aluminum. I ask because, short of letting it blacken with age, i cant get iron to blacken without changing the color of the inlayed wire. I've tried cold bluing but that does not work, i have tried tannic acid, and though it blackened the steel, is sanded off too easy. The spray with diluted acid, let rust, brush, and boil method is the only one that has shown any promise so far. I've seen it done,I just do not know HOW its done. Any help is greatly appreciat…

Ok! So I decided to try boiled linseed oil as a finish for my hooks! Besides the overwhelming smell of sardines and a dusty old cotton mill, everything went well. Here is what I did! I bought three, 1-quart cans of boiled linseed oil from wal-mart. I threw my hooks in the fire, got them hot like I would if I was waxing them, and then dipped them in the linseed oil. After that I just hung them up to drip! However, the hooks are very sticky now! If I try to wipe them off with a rag it leaves white fuzzies all over the hook. (Ok some smart guy say something like "all you need to do is use a black rag!" LOL) I know boiled linseed oil is supposed to be a good f…