Black Patina for Solder

OK so we had custom industrial, raw iron brackets done for our shelves. The first time the welder did it he did it right by bending the iron which would've been the best way because that's as strong as it gets. But the 2nd time we went back for some reason they bent one side and cut and welded together the lip (the front ) of the wall bracket. So I was annoyed because 1. I knew that wasn't as strong as the first batch and 2. the solder was bright alloy where the rest of the iron had that natural black patina. So I went to youtube, googled all over the place to figure out how to instantly age raw naturally aged iron to make it look the same without spray painting it. I personally can't stand painted iron, just looks cheap to me and that wasn't why we paid $7 for each bracket to then cover it up. So I highly recommend this, I did 2 passes, this works instantly. I used a sponge brush, had 2 bowls to keep this away from any surfaces that can be damaged, cloths to wipe, gloves so I wouldn't burn my skin. Definitely recommend doing it in a well-ventilated place, best probably outside but it doesn't smell much, I'm sure there are some fumes coming off though that might not be so healthy to inhale. I would not recommend painting this stuff on and leaving it for too long. Do a test in a conspicuous spot and watch how fast it transforms, you don't need much of this stuff so 1 bottle will last us forever, we had 8 brackets and 4 hooks and I used maybe a spoon worth of liquid. I was using it on a standard solder so highly recommend it! Do 1 pass, wipe, see how it looks...leave it to set in, then do it again. This will not create a shiny finish btw which is exactly what we were after and it's not black...more like ash charcoal. Glad I found this!

This patina is great for any stained glass project

Works and looks great

The black patina is awesome for stained-glass projects to offer differing color options from silver to black. The patina is easily applied to your project and quickly changes the color from silver to black. The value for this bottle of patina is great and comparable to other products. Highly recommended for stained-glass artists.

I found this to be the best out of all the patinas I used doing stained glass it works on the zince I use for framing but particularly work best on the 60/40 solder I use doing Tiffany style stained glass giving it a nice antique finish also worked on silverbrite dollar when I did lead free work.

Product showed up quickly! Bottle is bigger then i expected. Lasts a while too. Directions are clear and straight to the point.

Arrived in time and product is great

After I finished beading and attaching the hanging hardware to my stained glass piece, I washed it with dish soap and water, dried it, then applied the patina with a new/clean flux brush (which I dedicated to be my patina only brush). To protect the integrity of the unused chemical I poured out only a few mL at a time into a separate (plastic) container rather than dip into the bottle, and I discarded the unused portion. By the time I finished applying it to both sides of the whole piece, it was done (i.e. didn't have to wait for the change to occur). Just had to wash off the excess patina chemical. Maybe I should have prepped the surfaces with steel wool or something, but I didn't. Still, I found that the lead came/60-40 solder turned almost completely black rather quickly. I don't see how you could reliably apply less to get a lesser effect…maybe if you diluted it? But I would think that the reaction would go to completion with time, so you'd really have to practice your dilution and timing to get a consistent effect. But I wanted completely black, that's what I got, and it looks nice. The final color is a matte black, but I'm told that using either stained glass polish or car wax will make it (and the glass) nice and shiny. Also, I didn't have any issues with it messing up the finish of the glass I was using (both opalescent and transparent water glass), but that's probably because I washed the excess off after the metal had changed color. It wasn't like I took any special precaution to protect the glass portions. Good luck with your projects.