HMS Thorn by Kevin Kenny - 1:48 scale - Swan-class - David Antscherl practium

[dvm27]

Nice video on blackening Kevin. Some random thoughts - I use either alcohol or acetone as a degreaser. Also, keep in mind that brass is an alloy and, depending on the composition, some brass is much more difficult to blacken. For large groups of pieces I find that pickling first makes a difference in the blackening and uniformity of the finish. For small pieces you can use a paint brush to polish them in a deep tupperware piece so they don't fly away. Polishing prevents the finish from transfering to surrounding pieces and evens out the finish. Finally, while it's easier to blacken the Swan PE sheet whole don't you find that you still have to blacken the cut edges after removal from the sheet?

[Kevin Kenny]

What a number of the videos and modelers notes seem to indicate is that no one knows what is on the brass and different solvents will affect different contaminants on the pieces. I have acetone and should have mentioned it. Certainly the best results was pickling the pieces. Based on my soldering experience this has never disappointed me. You are right about blackening the photo etched pieces still connected to the frame. I actually used a stiff paint brush with the solvents and could see something coming off in the solution.  My choice would be to prickle the pieces, rinse, then blacken. If they did not take then i would try one of the three solvents i have in the shop until i get success. Thanks for the feedback.