Cannon conundrums

[Cap'n Jim]

To all who might read this and respond; greetings and I hope you are all well and prospering.

 

To get to the point: Can anybody suggest the best way to make brass cannons a more authentic colour, ie gunmetal. Are there paints or techniques that can achieve this?

 

Thank you in anticipation for all suggestions.

 

Best wishes

 

JImB

 

:  )

[testazyk]

Hi Jim--There is a product called Blacken-IT which can do a nice job of making guns look more realistic.  There has been some discussion about using here.  Check this out:  http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/1167-using-blacken-it

 

Good luck!

 

Tom

Edited November 23, 2014 by testazyk

[shihawk]

Just recently finished my cannons with Tamiya gun metal paint and am happy with the result , tried the blacken it method and found the results unreliable ,probably my own fault !!

[dgbot]

Chemical coloring of metal can be troublesome and time consuming.  The prep work has to be followed. Cleanliness is the holy gospel.  If you touch the part with your hands you have to clean again.  At times I wonder if it is worth the effort.  There are several products out there that will do the job depending on your needs. 

David B

[RichardG]

How good are the pewter cannons from Lumberyard http://www.dlumberyard.com/Shopping%20Cart/Out/index1.html?c18.html&1? From the pictures these look about the right color. I have a brass cannon that I painted that I'm not happy with and a bottle of blacken-it I've not tried yet! These look like they would not need any further finishing. 

 

Thanks,

Richard

[hornet]

Birchwood Casey Brass Black Metal Finish works well. It is available on EBay. See my post in the thread below for more info and pictures.

 

http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/4815-painting-and-blackening/

[figuerres]

with blacken-it I have generally had good results. some metals are made of compounds that do not blacken and will not work. common brass will blacken but make sure it's clean, some times I have run it thru and then cleaned with a tooth brush and run it a second time, that can help find and clean any spots that still had oil or other residue.

[wq3296]

Greetings Cap'n Jim,

 

I am an advocate of painting the guns as others have mentioned. I have tried the chemical route but was not satisfied at all. Others on the forum have done exhaustive testing, but ended up spraying the chemically treated guns with clear coat, anyway. Why bother? One caveat: some guns were cast in bronze/brass and some were cast in iron. Before you do anything, check to find out which guns your ship may have had when she was built. There are guys on this forum that can tell you this information if you provide them with the ship name, year she was built, country of origin, etc. If originally cast iron, paint them gunmetal. If brass, a light wash with dark brown paint will simulate weathered brass. What are guns made of that came with the kit? 

 

wq3296