Saturday, September 3, 2011

How to use Liver of Sulphur for Metal Patina

How to use Liver of Sulphur for Metal PatinaLiver of Sulphur works on:PMC, Sterling Silver, Copper and BrassWhat you'll get:Rainbow colors to black oxidized patinaTools and materials you will need:Liver of Sulphur300 ml Plastic or Steel container with lid for LOS solution600 ml Plastic or Steel container for neutralizing water bath600 ml Plastic or Steel container for metal cleaning solutionTongs, Tweezers or plastic mesh basket for dipping articlesArtists brushLiquid soapBaking SodaToothbrushLatex glovesWorking conditions:Work in a well ventilated area. LOS stinks like rotten eggs, even before being mixed into a solution. I carried a metal tin home from a jewelry show, triple wrapped in Saran Wrap, Aluminum foil, and a zippered plastic bag. My clothes in that suitcase all has to be washed as the smell had gone through all those layers!Avoid breathing in the smelly gases.LOS degrades quickly when exposed to light and air and when it has been mixed with water.Once made you will only have a short time to use the solutionFinish and polish the item to be oxidized before using the LOS.Wear latex gloves when you clean your item and when using the LOS to avoid skin oils contaminating your clean metal.To clean your item:Mix up about a cup of warm water with about 2 tsp of Dawn or similar dishwashing liquid. Dip the toothbrush in the cleaning solution and brush all over your item.Rinse in clean water and lay on to dry.Neutralizing solution:Mix 1 cup of warm water with about 2 tsp baking soda and stir to dissolve.Oxidization solution (the fun part):Mix 1 cup of hot water (about 150 F) with a pea sized lump of LOS, about 1/2 to 1 ounce of LOS per quart of water.Stir until dissolved gepletely.Dip your item into the solution using your tweezers, tongs or by placing it in a mesh basket. If your item is a bead, string it on a wire or string.If you accidentally get any LOS in areas where you dont want it, remove it with a polishing pad or similar item.The item should be agitated constantly until the desired patina is reached. You should be able to see the color develop. The time this takes will vary as it depends on the temperature of the solution but in most cases is approximately 30 seconds.When your item has reached the desired color, remove immediately from the solution and place in the neutralizing bath to stop the chemical reaction.Stronger solutions can produce darker shades but it can also speed up the process and make it difficult to control the final color.

1 comment:

  1. hi there,
    just found your post about liver of sulfur during my search on google. just wondering do u know anywhere in hong kong that i can get this in crystal or gel form? and also, do u know what they call in hong kong as well?

    thanks for your time.

    Em

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