http://davidmbowman.

com/patinas/patinas
.htm
Looking Forward Looking Back
http://vintajia.blogspot.com.br/2012_01_01_archive.html
It has been really hot here for the last 2
weeks and creativity tends to wilt in
proportion to the rise in temperature. So
most afternoon we have taken our deckchairs
down to our rainforest lined creek, and sat
in the shade with our legs in the cool water
waiting for a breeze.
The time was also used to review the passed
year and the direction of the future.
My year was one of endurance and frustration
as events beyond my control moved at glacial
pace. These events have finally been
resolved. ne more hurdle to get over and
onwards.
The silver lining of this cloud has been the
time I have been able to devote to being
creative ! "ust playing.
Most of the playing involved enamel so
thought I#d share some of my enamel tests
and the direction my inner #mad professor#
wanted to take.
I have flirted with pretty enamel, but I was
looking for rustic, grungy, raw and edgy. So
began the "ourney.

This is a series using li$uid white enamel
and li$uid copper. %as hoping to get copper
nitrate, but the local pharmacist#s eyes
glazed over when I tried to order some.
&ateral thinking and a trip to the hardware
store yielded cupric hydro'ide a gardener#s
fungal treatment.
(Note: copper nitrate and copper hydroxide
can be a hazard so sensible preca!tions to
limit expos!re are re"!ired#
Tile one was wet on wet. Tile 2 is wet on
dry li$uid enamel. Tile ( is strong copper
solution on wet white li$uid enamel and the
last is the same as ( but high fired.
The wet on wet yields a rather nice dotted
halo effect. )est results are using a weak
solution.
*ut this one in the useful file.

This is a test using bora' which is a flu'.
&ike the pink effect where the flu' has
thinned the enamel and let the copper show.
2nd panel was flu'ed and high fired.
The third one is the craters left when the
bora' is $uickly heated. Might be more
effective on paler colours.
+,ote- bora' is also hazardous.


,e't was a test of white li$uid enamel with
a reduced atmosphere flame. The 2nd one had
flu' added and the last one was fired from
the front deep in the flame. /eally like
speckled carbon deposits and the colour
variation where the flu' ran

,e't some more of my faves ! to'ic
chemicals0 This time in the form of salt
glazing. Salt glazing in pottery gives a
te'tured satin finish so thought I#d try.
+,ote- heating the salt results in the
release of chlorine gas soooo beware.
&ove love &12 the result on this tile.
Satin finish, great colours, fine te'ture
and detail,but could I duplicate it?

,ope, nope, nope, and nope0 More time and
testing needed on this one.


These two are a combination of li$uid
enamel, cupric hydro'ide and bora'. The
bottom one is high fired. /eally comple'
te'tures and colours. *ut this one in the
useful file.
Copper Red Patinas More Ideas
A red patina can be developed on copper with a torch and any number of fluxes. The heat is applied to the
copper from below. When the copper glows red hot sprinkle on the flux for a speckled look. Alternately, apply
the flux first, then apply heat, for a smoother color. (Generally, both techniues happen at the same time
because the salt bounces around.!
("f you don#t apply the flux you can get lovely tans and browns to blacks, depending on how hot you heat the
metal$ red hot gives the darkest colors.!

Rosebud Tip
%e careful with this techniue, especially with thin copper. "t is very easy to blow a hole through the red hot
metal.
&ote that a black crust forms as you work the metal. 'ou can#t see what is happening underneath( Thus
every patina is different and a surprise. 'ou can#t see what it looks like until you cool the metal down and
wash off the crust.
Also, if you reheat an area that you#ve previously salted, the colors change, often going to oranges.
" use a rosebud tip on my oxy)acetylene setup (see image right!. 'ou can buy one of these at your welding
supply store, or on)line, for about *++. This create a very hot wide flame and helps get the ,ob done faster.
%e careful not to touch the gas controls while using the redbud tip - " hold it behind the control knobs.

Copper Red Patina with Sodium Chloride (table salt)
&ote$ you have to turn the oxygen and acetylene dials way up to the +)./ range. 0tart with the acetylene
plus a little bit of oxygen to minimi1e the soot floating around the room. Get the torch going, then dial in the
oxygen until the yellow flame is about an inch long. 2on#t go to a flat blue flame( 3eating the copper releases
bonded oxygen. This oxygen super)ignites the flame, creating a very loud pop and blowing out your flame.
0tartling( When you turn the torch off, turn off the acetylene first to avoid the loud pop. The pop sounds like a
gun blast heard from a distance.
4ther aspects of this techniue ) " support the copper on bricks (on concrete blocks standing on a board laid
over sawhorses! at a height a few inches above my elbow height to avoid arm strain. The copper invariably
warps and bends with the heat. " wear the thickest 5 longest welding gloves " can find and touch the metal as
little as possible when moving it. A large spatula)like tool can help with the repositioning. " do this procedure
in the garage door$ not actually outside to avoid wind gusts6 not inside to avoid fumes and heat and soot.
7arefully sweep up the spilled salt afterwards. All salts are deliuescent (moisture attracting! and corrode
concrete.

Copper Red Patina with Ammonium Chloride (sal ammoniac)
"n theory, you could heat the copper very uniformly with multiple gas ,ets while holding it flat on a grill. That
might allow more control.
8or metal, " generally use 99.9: pure copper, such as roofing copper, ./.+ to ./;/ thickness. The ./.+
copper takes a gentle touch$ don#t hold the flame too close. " used ./.+ copper scrap for these experiments.
&ote that all the colors formed are copper oxides$ copper ("! oxide, 7u<4, a red color6 copper (""! oxide, 7u4,
a black color. Thinner layers of 7u<4 appear as orange to brighter red to pink to purples6 thinner layers of
7u4 appear as tans to browns to dark browns.
Copper Red Patinas Experiments
The photo at the top shows the four experiments " conducted as a group. (&ote that these samples are
unlacuered. All colors appear stronger, deeper and more vibrant after being lacuered.! "n my previous
article on creating a copper red patina, " stated " was using table salt mixed with baking soda (sodium
chloride with sodium bicarbonate! in a +$. ratio. " started doing this to get the red to adhere more to the
copper. That was successful, but at the cost of the loss of many of the lighter oranges and browns. 0ome
people liked it and some didn#t. "t tended to give mostly reds and blacks, with ,ust a few oranges. " felt like "
needed to get back to basics.

Copper Red Patina with Calcium Chloride
Experiment 1$ &a7l, sodium chloride, aka table salt. This was the flux " started off using, many years ago.
&ote that the hotter you get the metal, i.e. bright red hot, the less red patina that will adhere, because hot flux
aggressively cleans the metal. %lack areas are places that got red hot but did not get fluxed. "f you can
achieve a dull red color, then sprinkle on the salt, interesting effects can be achieved.
Experiment 2$ &3=7l, ammonium chloride, aka sal ammoniac. This is a flux used by stained glass window
artists. "t also has some applications in cooking$ see the Wikipedia article. This was an incredibly unpleasant
flux to use. 8ortunately " was working in the open garage door and could avoid most of the fumes$ it took a
day for my lungs to recover. &ote the beautiful yellow)green patina that formed. 'ellow)green patina is a
clear indication of copper chloride. This patina could be left on or scrubbed off.

Copper Red Patina with Potassium Chloride
Experiment 3$ 7a7l<, calcium chloride, aka ice)melting salt. &ot bad, interesting. &ote the blue crystals that
formed. 8airly straight forward application. 3as promise.
Experiment $ >7l, potassium chloride, aka 0alt 0ubstitute. " used Mortons Salt Substitute because it had
the least amount of additives and no mineral oil. This gives a lighter patina than the table salt, with a lot more
oranges. ?y favorite for this group. Also easy to use.
4ther possible fluxes$ 1inc chloride, widely used in fluxes for soldering6 borax - gives a beautiful red but the
borax forms a glossy glass)like covering that takes work to remove6 baking soda - reds but hard to remove6
phosphoric acid (haven#t tried it!6 heres a list of many more.
"n general, fluxes do two things$ clean the metal and block out oxygen.
Copper Red Patinas Afterwork

Copper Red Patina with Potassium Chloride
.st, cool the metal. " spray the backside with water from the hose.
<nd, rinse off the black crust and the flux from the front. 'ou will lose some red at this point so don#t rinse for
more than ./ seconds or so. 'ou will do more rinsing later.
;rd drip dry briefly as you carry it to a table
=th, gently flatten the metal with a piece of wood. 'ou don#t need it super)flat, you ,ust want it flat enough to
dry without having large puddles. 2rip dry briefly again as you carry it to its drying table.
+th, lay flat to finish completely drying (not in sun!. "f you dry it leaning, it will develop streaks. 'ou might like
that. The sunlight heats the metal to much, which dulls the colors.
@th, when completely dry, lay several damp towels over the metal to soften any additional flux. After =)@
hours or overnight, remove towels and rinse off any remaining flux or white powder.
Ath, 2ry completely again.
At this point you could hammer it flat, glue to a substrate, lacuer, make ,ewelry, etc. " have found these
patinas to last for many years inside, but outside, without lacuer, they turn brown and lose their vitality.
8avorite lacuers$ Clear Guard (fast)drying, great adhesion, satin! or Incralac (slow drying, high gloss,
excellent adhesion!. "#ve heard good reports regarding Permalac and ikolas !"#$% lacuer. Avoid any
nitrocellulose lacuers or water)based lacuers. >rylon clear works fine inside, degrades outside in a few
years.
Copper Red Patinas Additional Ideas
.. if you like most of the patina but not all, lay a wet towel around the area you want to keep and work on the
area that needs work
<. Bse different fluxes on different areas of your metal
;. Add some green acid patina to the red - the red and green patinas work well together
=. ?elt brass or bron1e on the metal before doing the patina