distressed belt buckles

[Micah]

Been searching around for ways to distress one of my belt buckles but coming up short on ideas. The buckle is nickel-plated zinc, btw. I took an old, meaty metal file to it... beating and scraping it silly, which really marred it up nicely. Now I'm trying to figure out a good way to "age" it, meaning make the pitting look blackened and maybe bring down the overal shine. I read to use black petina but the results I saw made the overal piece look too dark. Anyone know of any homebrew recipes or products that might work (without having to goout and buy a specialty product)? Hoping I have something around the house already that might have some effect. Also going to try torchng it. Anyway, just curious :scratchhead:

[Billsotx]

What I've done is create what looks like wear with a wire wheel. You've gone a little further and it sounds cool. You still might want to smooth it up a little if your scraping and gouging left any burrs or sharp places that might catch on clothing, billet, etc.

As far as getting that dark patina, I have used 44/40 cold gun blue and aluminum black by Birchwood Casey. There's other brands of blue available. I've seen it a Wal-mart but I don't recall the brand and you should find it at a gun shop or sporting goods store. This stuff last forever if you keep the cap on it and store in a cool, darken place. Don't store it around anything metal that you cherish, just if case .... I have not paid attention to whether aluminum black is still around. In the '70s we used it to keep our aluminum sights and sight ribs nice and black; they were aluminum obviously, and we learned about the stuff from the guy that built and sold the ribs. It was practical and functional for a revolver that got a lot of trigger time and in-and-out of the holster work. Handy stuff, as two decades later I wanted to distress a couple of belt buckles for CAS. Both the blue and black are caustic so after you get the patina you're after, coat the buckle lightly with oil or dip it in water or both. Clean it good with solvent to remove the oil if you do that. It may take repeated applications to get what you want. Use a soft cloth to apply it. I usually apply it with a .30 cal. cleaning patch; you'll probably go through a couplt. Wear protect gloves too. I never did but we're a little smarter now ... lol! Daub and dab and rub the stuff here and there and goop a little more on here and there, until you get the discoloration that you want. If you go too far and get it too dark remove, i.e. polish every so slightly, with steel wool or a wire wheel. Careful if you use the wheel, it goes fast. Steel wool is probably best as you won't go to far to soon.

Edited September 12, 2007 by Billsotx

[Peter Ellis]

Been searching around for ways to distress one of my belt buckles but coming up short on ideas. The buckle is nickel-plated zinc, btw. I took an old, meaty metal file to it... beating and scraping it silly, which really marred it up nicely. Now I'm trying to figure out a good way to "age" it, meaning make the pitting look blackened and maybe bring down the overal shine. I read to use black petina but the results I saw made the overal piece look too dark. Anyone know of any homebrew recipes or products that might work (without having to goout and buy a specialty product)? Hoping I have something around the house already that might have some effect. Also going to try torchng it. Anyway, just curious :scratchhead:

You'll want to be careful about heating zinc. Nasty toxic fumes. I would probably try some white vinegar.

[Micah]

Bill, thx for the tips! I will keep my eyes peeled when I go out later this week Also, I used the finer side of the file to smooth out the burrs. It looks mangled but feels pretty smooth!

Peter, thx for the warning! Earlier I "cooked" it over a candle flame (outdoors, fortunately!) for about 20-30 minutes, rotating it periodically and allowing it to becomes completely covered in soot. Of course, the soot wipes off (minus a few areas that vigourously rubbing with a rag didn't get at), but the heat was enough to very mildy discolor the metal. A higher heat would probably be needed to have more noticeable effect but I will be cafeful about that now! Gonna try your vinegar idea next.

Here's a pic of it so far...

[Mike Phelps]

Been searching around for ways to distress one of my belt buckles but coming up short on ideas. The buckle is nickel-plated zinc, btw. I took an old, meaty metal file to it... beating and scraping it silly, which really marred it up nicely. Now I'm trying to figure out a good way to "age" it, meaning make the pitting look blackened and maybe bring down the overal shine. I read to use black petina but the results I saw made the overal piece look too dark. Anyone know of any homebrew recipes or products that might work (without having to goout and buy a specialty product)? Hoping I have something around the house already that might have some effect. Also going to try torchng it. Anyway, just curious :scratchhead:

There is a finish that gives a brown rust appearance like the old muzzle loading firearms had called Plum Brown made by Birchwood Casey.

Jantz Supply www.knifemaking.com sells that and several others listed to give a black finish. Give them a visit. Good folks to do business with and just down the road from me.