Adriaan Gerber Posted June 23, 2021 Share Posted June 23, 2021 I'm playing with small jewelry items and I was wondering how to get an easy, quick shiny black finish on them. I've been using olive oil and a torch but it takes a while and I've had mixed results. Any help would be appreciated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted June 23, 2021 Share Posted June 23, 2021 What type of metal do you want to blacken? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adriaan Gerber Posted June 23, 2021 Author Share Posted June 23, 2021 Just mild steel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted June 23, 2021 Share Posted June 23, 2021 Gloss black Rustoleum is fast and easy. Otherwise you have to get the temperature right the a polymerizing oil works well. I don't know about olive oil though, I'd have to experiment. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted June 23, 2021 Share Posted June 23, 2021 Olive oil is non-drying, so you'll have to get it pretty darn hot to blacken it. Rustoleum gets my vote as well. If you want to keep more of a metal finish, wire brush and then rub on a thin coat of black shoe polish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeJustice Posted June 23, 2021 Share Posted June 23, 2021 (edited) 9 minutes ago, JHCC said: a thin coat of black shoe polish. But he said it is for jewelry... Edit: I quoted just above post, slap my wrist if you must. I did trim it down quite a bit though, so don't slap too hard. Edited June 23, 2021 by LeeJustice Oopsie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frazer Posted June 23, 2021 Share Posted June 23, 2021 If it starts out as shiny clean metal, gun blue might be a viable option.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted June 23, 2021 Share Posted June 23, 2021 4 minutes ago, LeeJustice said: it is for jewelry... Point being? We used black shoe polish in the art restoration studio for all kinds of stuff like this. You've got a high-carnauba-content wax base with very finely ground black pigment, so when it's rubbed thin and allowed to dry, you get a very nice dry sheen with a color that augments the metal underneath. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeJustice Posted June 23, 2021 Share Posted June 23, 2021 Well, I would have a concern that it would rub off on the wearer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted June 23, 2021 Share Posted June 23, 2021 Not if the excess is properly buffed off. Freshly applied wax is generally quite adhesive (sticks to other things) but not terribly cohesive (sticks to itself). Think of writing on glass with a crayon and then trying to wipe the marks off. The colored wax is very hard to remove and will smear over the surface quite easily, and you have to rub very hard to get all the wax off. Warm beeswax works the same. Paste waxes and shoe polish generally have quite harder waxes that don't smear quite as readily, so manufacturers add solvents to make them easier to rub over a larger surface. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted June 23, 2021 Share Posted June 23, 2021 Would applying shoe polish to hottish-warm steel change things? I didn't realize shoe polish contained hard waxes like carnuba but thinking back they didn't rub off once buffed out properly. It'd sure be easier to use than trying to get the temp right to turn Trewax black. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeJustice Posted June 23, 2021 Share Posted June 23, 2021 I was going to ask if anyone had tried the black oxide process but did a search first and found a topic here that had many suggestions: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted June 23, 2021 Share Posted June 23, 2021 29 minutes ago, Frosty said: Would applying shoe polish to hottish-warm steel change things? Yes, it would make it more liquid, which would allow it to flow out more easily. Hence the British Army trick of softening the surface of the polish with a warm spoon before application. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frazer Posted June 23, 2021 Share Posted June 23, 2021 28 minutes ago, LeeJustice said: black oxide process See previous post RE: Gun blue.. Same concept (more or less). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted June 24, 2021 Share Posted June 24, 2021 When I was in the service, we would heat the polish to liquid prior to rubbing it on shoes & boots. Made for a very nice spit shine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnut Posted June 24, 2021 Share Posted June 24, 2021 Have you tried blackening the pieces by a simmer in hydrogen peroxide then cleaning with denatured alcohol and a simmer in distilled water followed by a coat of beeswax? Pnut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted June 24, 2021 Share Posted June 24, 2021 Many of the gun blues have a phosphoric acid base liquid. Same as naval Jelly. Warming the part helps the blue bite into the surface when using a cold blue solution. We used Oxpho Blue at the shop I worked at. I used some beeswax at work to get some parts loosened up and with heat from the torch it left a hard black coating. But a gun blue is a simple dip , or wipe on process. Just keep it wet with the solution until it turns black. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeJustice Posted June 24, 2021 Share Posted June 24, 2021 Getting back to the crux of the question, Adriaan was asking for a finish for mild steel jewelry. That is where I am hesitant--mild steel for jewelry. I suppose it depends. Earring, no way. Ring or bracelet, probably going to end up rusting, especially from sweat, swimming in a pool. Pendants or something else, maybe. Would you elaborate more on what type of jewelry you have in mind? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted June 24, 2021 Share Posted June 24, 2021 I'm with you Lee, I wouldn't consider steel for body contact at all. However if someone I couldn't turn down insisted, I'd oven enamel it. Enameling iron and steel is an impressive skill set in itself. I've played with torch enameling copper and it was so much fun I did some reading about iron and steel. I thought it'd make some spectacular pieces. It was trickier and more demanding at the scale I was thinking of than I wanted to get involved in. However: rings, necklaces, bracelets, etc. are a much different thing, I think worth considering. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anvil Posted June 28, 2021 Share Posted June 28, 2021 He also said a shiny black finish and was doing a simple hot oil technique. Hot oil does a beautiful matte finish, not a shiny finish. I have no experience on a shiny finish for steel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adriaan Gerber Posted July 1, 2021 Author Share Posted July 1, 2021 I was thinking of pendants, things that hang off a cord. Like these Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted July 2, 2021 Share Posted July 2, 2021 There are some who think wearing iron has some health benefits Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adriaan Gerber Posted July 3, 2021 Author Share Posted July 3, 2021 I've heard it has protective qualities. I'm probably saturated:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted July 3, 2021 Share Posted July 3, 2021 Those are some nice Ouroboros pendants. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adriaan Gerber Posted July 3, 2021 Author Share Posted July 3, 2021 Thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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