Forcing Patina on Solid Brass Everyday Carry

Patina on brass has to be one of our favorite looks. It will give your favorite brass items that timeless rugged old look. Here's a couple of methods to darken up that brass everyday carry item that is just a bit too shiny and new for your preference. 

Brass Black Patina Method

This Steinhart Marine Officer Bronze Chronograph has just been dunked in Brass Black chemical, and buffed back with a soft cloth. 

Brass Black from Birchwood Casey is a liquid chemical you can pick up from your local hardware store, or order it online at Amazon. Applying it with a dauber or soft cloth is easily done for a controlled application. If you want to go aggressive, and black the brass out, you can do a quick submersion of your brass item as long as you have enough chemical to cover your item.

Things to know

• Wipe down your brass with alcohol cleaner to remove oils and achieve an even blackening. Or don't, and let it look more random and rugged.
• Can turn your brass item completely black.
• Can be polished back, but may be difficult in hard to reach areas.
• Black can be buffed away to find your preference of brass exposure.
• Use a rough cloth (for faster removal use 2000 grit sandpaper) to buff back the blackening.
• Chemical will darken your brass within 20 seconds or more depending on how black you want to go.
• Using the items may knock back patina with time.

Salt And Vinegar Brass Patina Method

Things to know:

• Can take 10 minutes or more depending on mixture and temperatures.
• May get some turquoise oxidization, which some folks love and others do not.
• Can be polished back, but may be difficult in hard to reach areas.
• Can use household materials, but requires more setup time.
• Using the items may knock back patina with time.

To achieve this patina: Add roughly a 1/2 cup hot vinegar to a mason jar, and mix in a teaspoon of salt. The more salt, the more aggressive the patina and speed. I used a teaspoon, and had this look in about 10 minutes. Tie string to your brass items, and suspend the item above the chemicals while using the mason jar lid to secure the string to prevent the item from touching the liquid. The fumes will be most potent up top, so if it is a long brass item like a pen, you may need to flip it after half the time, to get an even patina.

Another approach is to use a wide shallow Tupperware, so the long brass item can hang horizontally instead of vertically. I had my mason jar sitting on top of an oil heater to keep the vinegar warm and act as a diffuser. I sat and watched the patina develop over a few minutes, until I was happy with the results and removed the items. If turquoise buildup begins to form, you can buff it with a towel to knock it off but it will still leave a blue mark on the brass.