Ok, first question for on here, and I hope it's in the right forum! I'm looking at some holiday themed items, and would like to be able to "stain" the steel with a greenish tint before waxing. I'm not a fan of actual paint, and do want to see the steel through the tint. Are there any ways to accomplish such a color stain? Where's the green Dykem when I need it?

I'm going to experiment with some inks and such, but figured somebody on here had already done this. I wouldn't be surprised if it's already in a post - but I've yet to find it searching.

Thank you,
Jason

There are lots of patinas out there that should work for you. I found Art Nouveau Patinas at Industrial Metal Supplier near my location. I have used one of their patinas for something similar to what you are looking for. It was used on a steel post to give a copper patina and has held up for years. Good luck.

Inside or outside? You can tint spray lacquers to almost any shade.

I was also thinking copper. I use ph down (pool cleaner) and water as a copper pickle. I used a piece of steel to pull out some parts and noticed it looked like copper fairly quickly. I did a little research and basically the pickling solution becomes copper sulfate which can plate steel.
Just a thought but copper has allot more color possibilities than steel. I discovered this by accident but have used it several times since.

''Stain'' is way different than a patina and easier. Sculpt Nouveau sells both.........

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=sculpt+nouveau+metal+coating&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CDgQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sculptnouveau.com%2FDetails.cfm%3FProdID%3D42&ei=n6G2UP7AM4ODqgH7l4DgCA&usg=AFQjCNGcy3AXWKhQ73qcIpu_tohVTRxEpA

Guilder's paste - also called metallic wax. You can wipe on to the level desired then clear coat.

Personally I would use "Breakthrough" clear satin from PPG and tint it with Pthalo green tinter to the desired opacity. Three coats is tough as nails but even one coat holds up very well on "as forged" surfaces. "Breakthrough" is an acrylic but a very exceptionally tough and durable one! The Pthalo tinters are derived from copper compounds and have extreme tinting strength and are VERY transparent... ideal for this type application!

Thank you for all the suggestions. I had come across references to the Sculpt Nouveau products, but I was thinking they mainly worked on copper and other non-ferrous metals. For instance, the green I looked at said it turned iron bright orange? I'll have to go look more closely.

I'm still trying to stay away from paint - I don't know why, but I have always preferred bare metal. In fact, here is one of my toys that shows this. I polished out all the aluminum but had to go with paint on the fiberglass fenders:



But, I may have to give in on this one to get the color I want in the timeframe I have to do it.

Thanks again to all that replied!
Jason

I find when using pigment based ''patinas'' which are really just paint it's more about how much you remove than how much you put on. Anybody can slop on a color, the real proof in the pudding is taking away the right amount with say steel wool or Scotchbrite to expose the metal just enough to let the observer know their looking at metal and not something that could be anything under the ''paint''.

Layout dye?

Ok, first question for on here, and I hope it's in the right forum! I'm looking at some holiday themed items, and would like to be able to "stain" the steel with a greenish tint before waxing. I'm not a fan of actual paint, and do want to see the steel through the tint. Are there any ways to accomplish such a color stain? Where's the green Dykem when I need it?

I'm going to experiment with some inks and such, but figured somebody on here had already done this. I wouldn't be surprised if it's already in a post - but I've yet to find it searching.

Thank you,
Jason

 

 

Green shoe polish, it will wax and colour in one operation.

You can still buy Dykem on line through durablesupply.com  They carry a full line of transparent colors in 8oz. bottles. You can also get them through Grainger and MCS Supply. Dykem parent company is now called Dymon the phone number is 800-443-9536. If you call there customer sevice number. You might have a local supplier near you.