Solder and brass blackening

[Cabbie]

Good evening all

Can anyone in Australia recommend a good online supplier of solder in a syringe, and a brass blackening agent.

I have been looking at M-20 black patina dye from Barnes, but they seem to be having trouble getting it.

Does anyone know if this product will do the job? They seem to think it works.

Or does anyone know where to buy Birchwell Casey Brass Black online? And hopefully solder at the same place.

Thanks in advance Chris

[gjdale]

Chris,

 

Here's a link for Birchwood Casey Brass Black:

 

http://westernfirearms.com.au/cleaning-gun-care-bluing-wood-metal-care-brass-black-p-1599.html

 

You can get some solder in a syringe through Micromark. There are other suppliers, but I seem to have lost the links.

 

Hope this helps.

[RMC]

There is a gun shop in Beverly Hills in Sydney that has the Birchwell Casey stuff. It works quite well but make sure you wash it off after you get the required degree of black, otherwise the residual material will rub off - it makes dirty marks where you certainly don't want them.

 

Bob (rmc)

[Cabbie]

Thanks gjdale

That will be good for the brass black. I wanted to buy stuff in oz if i could, but looking at the micromark site,

they have some other things i want. Hopefully someone will come up with something locally

Thanks Chris

[hornet]

I get my Birchwood Casey via EBay. Jaycar electronics sell a lot of soldering stuff. They do online orders as well.

[Cabbie]

Thanks hornet, i will check them out, might be able to do that in person, they have a store in Bendigo.

Actually, that might have been the easier way all along.

 Chris

[Cabbie]

I'm dreaming, i know that, I'm still hoping someone will tell me where to buy at the one place.

Thanks Chris

[Cabbie]

Bump

[gjdale]

Chris,

 

The nature of these products make it unlikely that you'll find them at one place. It's only us weird folk called model builders who need the two items in our workshop together.

[Cabbie]

Yes gj i have been hunting around today, and given up. An order is about to go off to Micro mark, one up to that place in Sydney you put up.

And with a bit of luck i will pick something up in Bendigo. Then i should be set and get back to some serious modelling again.

Thanks Chris

[ioanniz]

I reaaly liked the brichwood black brass, in the midlle i rubbed it with paper after a one minute bath, and on the right side i rubbed it with steel wool

Edited April 1, 2016 by ioanniz

[WaltB]

I wanted to get some Brass Black today. unfortunately i live in the People's Republic of California. I went looking all over town for Brass Black--hardware stores, craft stores, and finally a gun shop. It was at the gun shop that i learned that Brass Black cannot be sold in this state. Seems it is some kind of minor hazard; but a hazard nonetheless. Have to order online and wait. BUMMER!

[BANYAN]

Chris - For soldering paste (silver and copper) I use Australian Jewellers Supplies / House of Jewellery - http://jewellerssupplies.com.au/soldering-welding-c-95.html?__utma=187725425.995140569.1462256671.1462256671.1462256671.1&__utmb=187725425.0.10.1462256671&__utmc=187725425&__utmx=-&__utmz=187725425.1462256671.1.1.utmcsr=google|utmccn=(organic)|utmcmd=organic|utmctr=(not%20provided)&__utmv=-&__utmk=163156796

 

They may have some other things you might need also.  Try ringing them; I have found them to be very helpful in determining exactly what you need etc (but unfortunately, they are slightly expensive).

 

As to Birchwood Casey Blackening; I bought a large bottle ( more than a lifetimes supply) from a gun shop in Western Melbourne somewhere at a very reasonable price.  If interested I can try and track down the name of the place.

 

cheers

 

Pat

Edited May 3, 2016 by BANYAN

[WaltB]

I haven't seen any discussion in this brass blackening thread about stropping blocks (or other wood parts such as dead eyes) with blackened brass. I have several blocks that are to be stropped with metal and i wanted it to appear as iron. i wondered: should i blacken before i strop, or can i blacken the brass stropping when it is already on the block. The problem is that while working the blackened brass to bend it around the block, the black tends to rub off and make a real mess.

 

So i thought i would try. to strop the block and then blacken the brass. I went through the normal process: treat in vinegar, rinse in water, then dunk in Brass Black. Each of these steps was only about a minute long. The result is a perfectly normal looking block with a black metal strop. What seemed like a dumb idea paid off.

 

Walt

[popeye2sea]

Glad to hear that this works.  I had thought about trying that but never got going with the attempt.

 

Regards,

[WaltB]

Thanks for the response Popeye. I'll watch this block for a while and post here if anything goes wrong with itl

 

Have no idea what, if anything, the Brass Black will do to the boxwood.

Walt

[Bob Portsmouth]

Has anyone tried ammonia vapour? I read about it on a non modeling site and gave it a try. Pour a 1/2" of conc. ammonia (a bottle of hardware store oven cleaner) into a glass jar and screw the top back on quickly! Cannons can be strung together through the trunnion holes leaving enough length of line so the cannons can be suspended ABOVE the liquid, not in it. Heavier items like cannons can be left a few hours depending on how tarnished you want them (I forgot a batch and left them overnight), thin brass sheet, chainplates etc, will require far less time otherwise they will crumble. The cannons look a mess but when they're cleaned with steel wool and polished they have a fairly natural looking patina similar to the bronze cannons in the Royal Armoury. They don't blacken using this method so my finished cannons are all cast bronze, not iron!

[Louie da fly]

Hi Cabbie,

 

Mtbediz successfully blackened brass by soaking it in ammonia and heating it with a cigarette lighter  in his Santa Maria build here.

 

Steven

 

PS: Nice to see a fellow ship modeller in Castlemaine. We're almost neighbours!

Edited September 1, 2017 by Louie da fly

[JohnB40]

Greetings all,

I messed about with the preparation and application of B.C. Brass Black for a while on one of my builds and finally found a way to get good results with it.

 

[JohnB40]

For some reason I couldn't edit my previous post to add..

I would use 0000 grade steel wool instead of 1500 grit paper to prep non flat items such cannons

[BANYAN]

For irregular surfaces also try those refillable fibre bristle propelling pens BUT do take care not to get a fibre remnant in your hands/fingers as they are a real pain to remove   They clean surfaces really well and I find it not even necessary to do any other prep on small items; although treatment to remove finger oils etc if not wearing gloves is recommended.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[Louie da fly]

Further to my post above, the tutorials which show the use of ammonia for blackening also stress the need for safety precautions, including eye protection and ventilation. Ammonia can be rather nasty stuff (it also bleaches and rots your clothes if you're not careful).

 

Steven