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Blackening Britannia metal


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I wanted to avoid painting my Britannia metal fittings.  Black paint on the guns just didn't look realistic.  If I used Blacken-It, a dark crust would form, which rubbed off with a paper towel, leaving a barely darkened piece of metal.  What to do?

 

I started by soaking the parts in a 50:50 solution of muriatic acid and water for 10 minutes.  This cleaned and I think etched the surface a bit.  Then into Blacken-it, full strength,  for 10 minutes after rinsing.  I polished the pieces with paper towel and Q tips, and while darker, they weren't where I wanted them.  The last step was to soak the parts for 10 minutes in "Brass Black" Metal Finish by Birchwood Casey.  After cleanup with paper towels and Q tips, almost no finish came off and the parts were a dark gunmetal color.  Perfect!  In certain lighting they almost have a faint bronze cast to them  Here is a photo

 

Dave

post-3900-0-13162600-1398269830_thumb.jpg

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I have had good results using the following process.

1.  Clean in a solution of 50/50 water and vinegar.

2.  Soak in Blacken-it for half an hour.

3.  Dry and let sit for a couple of days.

4.  Paint with a thin coat of MS cannon black paint.

 

The blacken-it gives the metal a good new cast iron look but does require time to set (I guess that is the right word).  It provides a great base for the paint.  The result is a dull black, slightly rough finish that looks like painted cast iron does.  Just my results, your mileage may vary.

My advice and comments are always worth what you paid for them.

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I haven't used the product as of yet but, Bluejacket is now owned by a Model Builder.  I'm sure that if you contact them directly he can possibly show you sme examples.  Just a thought.

 

Tom

Tom Ruggiero

 

Director Nautical Research Guild

Member Ship Model Society of New Jersey (Past President)

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