How to brown brass?

[Xtramad]

I'm restoring a 1774 Norwegian drill musket and have to make a new ramrod pipe. But I need to stain the new ramrod pipe to match the existing ones. Does anyone know of any chemical that will stain brass to a dark brown/almost black color?
I've tried household ammonia solution and it stains the brass to a nice brown color, but only above the fluid level. Once I submerge it the color disapeers, so I guess that it is the ammonia gass that does the coloring. How can I release the ammonia gass from the solution, any chemists among us?

 

[Stumpkiller]

Here are some home-made solutions for greening and browning brass. Read to the end for the browning process. They recommend adding salt to the solution of ammonia. I have not tried these tips - I just found them for you - so please be careful and test them first. (Note - "Windex" is a brand of spray cleaner of alcohol and ammonia mixed in water with a bit of detergent)

Green Patina Formula:

2 parts white vinegar
1 1/2 parts non-detergent ammonia
1/2 part non-iodized salt
Application:
Clean fixture with Windex-type cleaner.
Premix patina solution in Windex-type spray bottle
Spray Windex cleaner on fixture to break surface tension, leaving it on when you apply patina solution.
Apply patina solution by spraying onto fixture, preferably in the early evening on a high humidity night.
Allow to set for 1 hour, then reapply solution observing where you missed applying on the first coat. If there seems to be oil that is repelling the patina solution, clean it off with the Windex cleaner.
Allow to sit overnight. In low humidity desert areas, use a plastic bag to create a tent over fixture (without making contact with it) to help keep the humidity high during curing. If there is low moisture in the air, the solution will dry out without creating the patina effect.
The result will be a bright green powdery patina. Do not rub off. In time (and re-applications) this finish will become permanent. The brightness will fade with time. To reduce green, cut back on the salt content. Color and effect is greatly affected by application ambient temperature and humidity.
back to top

Darkening Copper & Brass (penny brown):
Brown Patina Formula
Hot Water
Baking Soda
Place the hot water in a bottle. Add enough baking soda until it will not dissolve anymore when shaking the bottle.
Application:
Same as Green Patina. This finish is not as powdery and will not need as many re-applications

 

[bob1961]

if you look at my maple stock post in the builders bench....you'll see my hawkens brass browned with B/C's perma-blue..........................bob

 

[Birddog6]

Birchwood Casey's Brass Black will turn it as black as you want it. Must be clean brass first & no oil residue. Put it on & leave it set. Then rub it out to lighten it or highlight areas of use if required. Use burlap for a slow rub or 0000 steel wool (washed out) for a fast rub but you must go very light on the wool or you will rub off all the blacking.

I suggest using latex gloves & old clothes, as the stuff will turn your fingers blue & stains on hands & clothes will not come out.

There is a Frederick Sell that is on my web sight that I antiqued with brass black. I didn't want it black, just an aged look.

Custom Flintlocks

 

[musketman]

I've tried household ammonia solution and it stains the brass to a nice brown color, but only above the fluid level. Once I submerge it the color disapeers, so I guess that it is the ammonia gass that does the coloring.

So it browns the brass above the fluid level, what you need to do is to suspend the brass pipe by string above the fluid level, you can do this in the ammonia jar itself...

Take a 1/4 to 1/2 full jug of ammonia, thread a string through the brass pipe and lower it into the jar enough to suspend it above the liquid, with the string hanging out, replace the screw cap and let the brass set in the vapors only...

It would look something like this...

 

[Deadeye]

Seal it in a box with a small open bowl of ammonia. leave it a few days.

 

[Xtramad]

I tried hanging it in the vapors of boiling ammonia but it condensed on the cool brass and left it lepard spotted. I tried the baking soda recipe too, but no reaction there.
Suspending it in a bottle of ammonia worked really nice. The browning is building up after only a few hours above the vapors. Its so simple, I'm ashamed I didn't think of it myself, thanks Musketman.
I live a long way from the nearest gun shop, so improvised techniques like this save me a lot of driving. I've tried permablue before but it turns out a bit to black/blue for my taste.

 

[Claude Mathis]

I tried hanging it in the vapors of boiling ammonia but it condensed on the cool brass and left it lepard spotted.

Water condensation caused by boiling. :winking:

 

[Zonie]

I live a long way from the nearest gun shop, so improvised techniques like this save me a lot of driving..."

In all likelyhood, the gun shop wouldn't know how to do it.
It's only weirdo's like us that would want to tarnish some nice shiny brass. ::

 

[roundball]

It is funny how we view things differently...after every range trip, part of my cleaning process is to clean and polish the dark handling smuges off all the brass furniture before putting the rifle back up

 

It is funny how we view things differently...after every range trip, part of my cleaning process is to clean and polish,,,,

Yup,,that's what makes us human,,we all enjoy different things,,and are free to enjoy them as we do,,I kinda like olde rusty brown iron lookin stuff my self,,,,,,,, :winking:

 

[musketman]

Suspending it in a bottle of ammonia worked really nice. The browning is building up after only a few hours above the vapors. Its so simple, I'm ashamed I didn't think of it myself, thanks Musketman.

Lykkelig til hjelpe... :winking:

 

[Herb]

From the book by John E. Traister "Professional Care and Finishing of Gun Metal", 1982, TAB Books Inc., Blue Ridge Summit, PA 17214: "Blackening Brass: dissolve bits of copper scraps in concentrated nitric acid diluted with an equal amount of distilled water in a glass container. Be careful with the nitric acid as it is extremely caustic. Immerse the brass object in the solution until the preferred shade is reached. Remove and wash well with water. This will produce a dull black. If a sheen is preferred, rub the finish with linseed oil." "BLACK ON BRASS: Dissolve 1 ounce copper nitrate in 6 ounces distilled water and apply to the brass. Then heat the brass. This changes the copper nitrate to copper oxide and produces a permanent black finish. Instead of heating, the following solution can be applied over the copper nitrate coating. 1 ounce of sodium sulfide. 1/2 ounce of hydrochloric acid, concentrated. 10 ounces of distilled water. This changes the coating to black copper sulfide."

 

Excuse me for reviving this old thread. I have a hard time finding out what exactly "non-detergent ammonia" is because there are several translations.

Is this NH4OH (ammonii caust.) s/d/t? What does non-detergent mean?

Robert

 

[musketman]

Excuse me for reviving this old thread. I have a hard time finding out what exactly "non-detergent ammonia" is because there are several translations.

Is this NH4OH (ammonii caust.) s/d/t? What does non-detergent mean?

Robert

Robert, Non-Detergent Ammonia is just "Pure Ammonia", nothing has been added to it, like detergents (soap)...

 

[Stumpkiller]

What MM said.

Our stores locally carry "Parson's Sudsy Ammonia" that has soap added whether you want it or not. The soap "protects" the metal from the patina process and you're spinning your wheels.

 

Thank you for the explanation. If it is sold in normal stores for cleaning metal then I know what substance it is. I will try the simplex (10%) dilution.

Again, thank you for the help.


Robert