Interesting way to age brass.

[Little Red]

I recently got a real 1860 Colt Army made in 1863. Perfect in function but cleaned a lot over the years including the brass hardware which was shiny too. Wanted to make it look aged and google searches brought up soaking it in vinegar but it gave a look I didn't care for and which was somewhat fragile. So how did these revolvers brass patina over time? Black powder that was not washed off or done so poorly. I took some real FFF and ( not sure if the other stuff would work but I think it would) mixed water in it along with 1 drip of dish soap, just enough to make a thick paste and coated the brass with it. As the paste dried I would do it again and did so for about 6 hours. After that I took wet paper towels and wiped it all down letting some of the corners near the finger guard with a little more just for the patina. This is also a very durable method, doesn't come right off in you hands. Hope this helps someone. John

 

[AlexanderA]

Make a slurry out of powdered sulphur and oil. Same result, simpler application.

 

[troy fairweather]

i like the look of the ones i find my pickup bed after a few months.

 

[1KPerDay]

I don't know know why but the concept of artificially aging an original Colt just rubs me the wrong way. But it's your hogleg so do as you will.

 

[woodnbow]

Strip the lacquer from the brass, place a cup of ammonia in the bottom of a five gallon bucket. Hang the brass to be aged inside the bucket (I lay a rod across the span and use nylon cord to suspend the item. Cover the works and leave it for 24 hours for an authentic patina. Be careful around the fumes, very bad stuff... but it works brilliantly.

 

[Little Red]

I don't know know why but the concept of artificially aging an original Colt just rubs me the wrong way. But it's your hogleg so do as you will.

As it was it looked like it was nickel plated. I bought it for it's great function but based on the age, I wanted to make it look the part. Other then being an actual military inspector marked 1860 it's value dropped dramatically after they did that to it so hey, what the heck. At least it now looks the part. It just isn't that high of a finish collectable.

 

[1KPerDay]

FYI a lot of the originals were SILVER plated brass, and if you stripped off the remaining original silver plating to make it look more authentic, well, I don't know what to tell you.

 

[expat_alaska]

Before you get headlong into making it look "authentic", buy a book. I have it, it is over 460 pages, and a very good reference. I use it to see how well my ASM 1860 Army .44 measures up to the real deal.

https://www.amazon.com/Colt-Model-1860-Army-Revolver/dp/1931464790

Regards,

Jim

 

[Mizar]

All that revolver still needs is complete polishing with rounding of the edges and removing the roll marks. Seriously - stop it right there, you did enough harm to that old gun.

 

[rpenmanparker]

Next thing you know someone is going to post about aging rare coins that are in too good condition.

 

[expat_alaska]

I recently got an ASM 1860 Army in trade for some select collector coins and the deal was good for both of us. Many silver coins had "toning" which is not a bad thing at all, and is a good thing because that is a true indicator that the coin was not "cleaned", which is an anathema in numismatic circles.

If anyone here wants to trade a pistol for authentic condition circulated coins, contact me.

Regards,

Jim

 

[Little Red]

Wow, people. I sure guess I was NOT clear. The trigger guard was NOT plated, just shiny brass that a prior owner HAD polished tp a mirror like finish ( the inspector stamp is 1/2 gone). The REMAINDER of the revolver had been polished to look like nickel plate ( and its not either) which I have a number of ways to correct. ALL I was talking about here was the brass trigger guard. Just thought it may be helpful to others wanting to make a replica look like it has some patina to it. Chill.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Just thought it may be helpful to others wanting to make a replica look like it has some patina to it. Chill.

Yes it was helpful for that.


So was the tip from woodnbow…,about a DIY ammonia chamber for brass....

Strip the lacquer from the brass, place a cup of ammonia in the bottom of a five gallon bucket. Hang the brass to be aged inside the bucket (I lay a rod across the span and use nylon cord to suspend the item. Cover the works and leave it for 24 hours for an authentic patina. Be careful around the fumes, very bad stuff... but it works brilliantly

I learned something new. THANKS

LD

 

[woodnbow]

I’ve used the ammonia to age brass for many years. I used to build reproduction furniture and it’s just a part of the process...

 

[Missionary]

I sure will give the Ammonia fumes a try one day. Have used BP "slurry" or just soak in a BP "wash" for years.

 

[arcticap]

Without photos it's difficult to see what type of antique look is being obtained.
I've seen photos here of darkened brass by using vinegar.

I also Googled "antique brass solution" and found a number of commercial solutions that different types of craftsman buy to age their brass projects.
I'm not sure if they are all the same solutions as simple "brass black" or not.
Many craftsman provide user reviews describing different results, but most are favorable.
These people deal with old hinges, brass wall plates, faucets, jewelry etc...
The products also have a wide range of prices.
In addition there are youtube videos in the search results including "How to Age Brass", "How to Age Brass Using Vinegar & Salt" and
"How to Age Shiny Brass Instantly! / Cottage House Flip Episode 5" so you can see the results.

What's nice about videos is that you can see the results that can be obtained and folks may learn a few new tricks, such as how to prepare the brass prior to treatment.
Try Google and do research before applying solutions that may not give expected results, whether the solutions are commercial or home made.

 

[Cowhide Cliff]

Wow, people. I sure guess I was NOT clear. The trigger guard was NOT plated, just shiny brass that a prior owner HAD polished tp a mirror like finish ( the inspector stamp is 1/2 gone). The REMAINDER of the revolver had been polished to look like nickel plate ( and its not either) which I have a number of ways to correct. ALL I was talking about here was the brass trigger guard. Just thought it may be helpful to others wanting to make a replica look like it has some patina to it. Chill.

All you have to do is leave it alone or shoot them with black powder, the brass will patina plenty fast enough.

 

[4v50 Gary]

I could have used the advice back in 2013. I used the vinegar method and wasn't happy with it.

 

[grter]

I don't know if the brass really needs that much help forming a patina. From someone who loves to polish brass to an almost silver like shine I find the hardest part is keeping the brass from forming a patina. I doubt any help is needrf just handle and use it. That brass will age quite fast on it's own without any interventions. That is my opinion.

 

[whughett]

i like the look of the ones i find my pickup bed after a few months.

That works, I just shootem a lot.

 

[woodnbow]

Without photos it's difficult to see what type of antique look is being obtained.
I've seen photos here of darkened brass by using vinegar.

I also Googled "antique brass solution" and found a number of commercial solutions that different types of craftsman buy to age their brass projects.
I'm not sure if they are all the same solutions as simple "brass black" or not.
Many craftsman provide user reviews describing different results, but most are favorable.
These people deal with old hinges, brass wall plates, faucets, jewelry etc...
The products also have a wide range of prices.
In addition there are youtube videos in the search results including "How to Age Brass", "How to Age Brass Using Vinegar & Salt" and
"How to Age Shiny Brass Instantly! / Cottage House Flip Episode 5" so you can see the results.

What's nice about videos is that you can see the results that can be obtained and folks may learn a few new tricks, such as how to prepare the brass prior to treatment.
Try Google and do research before applying solutions that may not give expected results, whether the solutions are commercial or home made.

The pre treatment is important. Most brass items are coated to prevent oxidation. Lacquer was the preferred top coat when I was still building period furniture. I suspect they’re using some sort of polyurethane these days. Anyway, that needs to come off first, obviously the OP doesn’t have that to think about but sans some type of coating brass will develop patina rapidly.

 

[robhof]

There's also a finish called Brass Black, I've used it on a few of my rifles, a light coat left on a few minutes then wiped off gives an aged brass look, enough coats and left to dry, gives a true black coating, so far seems quite durable, been hunting a few times and out in the weather, still covered.

 

[Jimkounter]

So, you can crush boiled eggs into a plastic bag and add your brass parts. Or more simply purchase some liver of sulphur solution and follow the directions on the bottle.

Bronze and brass watches are currently in vogue and the liver of sulphur solution is the preferred way to get some nice aging. I've successfully used this on watches and revolver parts. The egg way also works but is quite slow.

 

[ClemBert]

All talk and no pics.