Finishing anchor's

[rich-mar]

Birchwood Casey Brass Black Melal Finish 3ounce $8.99. Need to color my anchor's and brass bolts that comes with kits, will this do the job or is there something better at a fair price? Thank Dick C. Taunton Ma.

[Bob Cleek]

You could check out liver of sulphur, available at jewelers' supply houses like Otto Frei or Rio Grande.  It may be about the same price as the Birchwood Casey stuff and likely very close to the same thing.

[allanyed]

Bob,

I have never had a good experience with LOS on brass.  It works beautifully on copper, but no luck for me so far on brass.  Is there a trick or secret as I really prefer it to other agents as it can be used on a piece in situ without staining the wood around it.

Thanks

Allan

[Bob Cleek]

4 hours ago, allanyed said:

Bob,

I have never had a good experience with LOS on brass.  It works beautifully on copper, but no luck for me so far on brass.  Is there a trick or secret as I really prefer it to other agents as it can be used on a piece in situ without staining the wood around it.

Thanks

Allan

I overlooked the fact that he was asking abou blackening brass. My bad! Truth be told, I've never tried LOS on brass, but I"ve heard the same complaint from others. I've always primarily used copper instead of brass for fabricating model metal work, mainly because I came by a large stock of it years ago and found it easy to work with and so have used LOS on it. When I have used brass tubing and the like, I've always painted it, not by design, but just by happenstance.  

 

 

Therefore, I'd say...

 

[Dr PR]

rich,

 

I don't have much experience with the Birchwood Casey Brass Black but it is easy to use and works well on brass and tin-lead solder.

 

https://modelshipworld.com/topic/19900-brass-black/?do=findComment&comment=991402

 

However, if you will be blackening parts with relatively large surfaces (and not just wire) I suggest you read through the thread about blackening brass on the forum. It is very important to get the metal surfaces clean to get even blackening without spots or streaks. Many people recommend etching the brass surface (there are several methods) before blackening, so the process can involve several steps.

[allanyed]

4 hours ago, Dr PR said:

Many people recommend etching the brass surface

Dick,

Take what Phil wrote very seriously. My go-to pickling material is Sparex but there are surely other brands or methods.  Once pickled tinse the piece with water and then blacken with BC or other brands.  Remember that once pickled  do not touch the piece with your fingers as any oil on your fingers can screw up the blackening.   

Allan