Thread: Darkening blade etching

So I was drooling over the photos of mycarvers’ awesome WB in black horn. (Workshop, Custom). His etching came out black and says he did not apply anything to darken.

I am doing a couple of blades with nice blade etching and have been wondering how to darken the etch? I was thinking of cleaning with brake cleaner then paint a coat of thinned flat black Revell’s modelers paint, a quick wipe, lite sand with high grit wet & dry and re polish by hand with a stiff backing, foam or wood shaped to the blade.

Has anyone had any success with bluing, acid or paint?

Bluing or an acid like this definitely work:
Brass Darkening Solution 8 oz | Brass Darkener

Your plan sounds good, definitely a firm backing behind your polishing cloth and sandpaper will prevent you from removing the darkened ares in the recesses.

Yup, I have some of that Brass Darkening that might work better than paint. And a fine steel wool will leave fewer scratches than sand paper. I'll try it on some chipped blades tonight.

Thanks

Marty

Search for "forced patina" on the web. There are many methods for darkening steel.

Get some polishing paper for the sanding. (used to polish jewelry) It is much finer than regular sandpaper, but can still be wrapped around a block so it doesn't dip into the etch.

I've had some good results with vinegar. I'll post pics and more detail when I get home from work.
Grant

Ok, here's one I did a while back.
The blade was sanded to maybe 1500 grit and then cleaned with acetone and a tooth brush.
I then applied hot vinegar to the etch area until it looked nice and dark.
The acid was then neutralized with Ammonia and rinsed off with water.
Then I rubbed the area very lightly with wet & dry paper and water (probably 1500 grit). then finished the whole blade off with 2000 grit.
A curved sanding block of some kind would probably be a good idea, but I just used my finger.
Worked pretty well though.







Grant

Vinegar+ammonia=mustard gas!How did you stop that lethal reaction?

I guess rinsing the vinegar off with water before applying the ammonia would solve that problem. I dont know about the chemistry here but were only talking about a few drops anyway, and the vinegar has pretty much evaporated by the time its darkened
G.

How long does it take the vinegar to darken the blade? Is it quickly before ur eyes type thing? Or watch it for couple mins/hours? Just wondering might try it myself one day

I warmed up the vinegar in the microwave first, then let it sit on the blade for maybe 5-10 minutes IIRC
Grant