Dulling brass rivets

[ruthless]

I bought a pack of brass rivets and a keeper and they're very shiny. I also bought a buckle and two d-rings which are dull. The girl in the shop said it was because they'd been oxidised and the shiny stuff would eventually go the same way. I think it'll look odd to have them all together on a collar. Is there any way to dull down the shiny hardware?

[rdb]

The best thing to do is look to buy both to match. A visual walk through Tandy, or a place close to you will help choose.

I doubt there is any effective manner of buffing out rivets to match a manufactured finish of a product from another company. But, and not seeing the two together, I am guessing a fine steel wool over the top of the rivet MIGHT sort of match the dees. This will be a new one to me, if anyone else has a solution they know works.

[ruthless]

There's no Tandy near me, I'm in Oz. When selecting the hardware I didn't have an option to choose things that matched Someone PMd me and suggested soaking the shiny bits in vinegar for a couple of days.

[rdb]

I would wager that, with vinegar, they blacken, rather than dull.

[ruthless]

I'll take a picture of the buckle next to the keeper and rivets so you can see what I mean.

[DCKNIVES]

You lightly sand the rivets with a 600 grit paper or finer say 1000 grit and it will take the shine down to a satin finish which will patina a little quicker.Dave

[ruthless]

Thanks, that's what my husband suggested, but I didn't believe him!

[Ian]

I would wager that, with vinegar, they blacken, rather than dull.

Dave, that doesn't work - I just tried vinigar on Friday. It left a orange corrosion like stuff on the undersides of the rivets and didn't do much to the shiny finish. When I was much younger I had a job in an art gallery polishing bronze and brass sculpture. It seemed like they tarnished overnight, same thing when I was using brass hardware in my harness making days. But trying to get a fast tarnish on brass when I want it seems near impossible. Ohio travel Bag has high quality antique brass rivets. I think that's the best route - buy them in the finish you want

[tonyc1]

But, are they Brass or just Brass Plated?

[OutBackP]

At a guess I would say they are brass plated and the orange colour is the beginning of rust. If you wanted to experiment you could try ammonia vapor, leaving them in urine or in a compost bin.

Not sure if this would work for plated stuff though. Often brass has a clear lacquer coating and this needs to be removed first.

[china]

Back in the seventies I used to make copper Jewllery, I used sulphate of potash to instantly age copper I have never tried it on brass but it may work

[china]

ruthless Birdsall leather & craft sell tandy gear

http://www.birdsall-leather.com.au/default.asp

[Kevin]

I've tried a few different things, but I am too impatient to wait for a reaction and nothing worked for me. If the main concern is that the pieces match, buff everything and they will dull together.

Kevin

[AndyL1]

At a guess I would say they are brass plated and the orange colour is the beginning of rust. If you wanted to experiment you could try ammonia vapor, leaving them in urine or in a compost bin.

ew. nothing like fishing your rivets out of a bucket of pee.

[rhallskid]

Do you have a stained glass place around you? We use a few patina liquids that might work on them. I bet if you went in, or called they might be able to help you use the ones you have. Also Bearman has more experience with Stained glass than I do, he might be able to tell you right off the top of his head if something like this would work.

Marie

[Hilborne]

A Google search for "How to Blacken Brass" will get you started, but finding the ingredients could be a problem. So what I use was purchased at a local Wood Working store. They sell tools, hardware, etc. They also sell paint and varnish, and in that department I found a product called "Bass Darkening Solution" It is distributed by a company called WSI Distributors, located in St. Charles, MO. USA.

It works real quick, less than a minute usually for me. I buy brass buckles, spots, rivets, etc form Tandy locally, and like most modern brass goodies, it is plated, and then sealed in a varnish or shellac. On a buckle the best way I have found to remove, and very quickly, was with elbow grease and 000 steel wool. Dip or paint on the solution, it turns black, and then buff and shine with brasso to my liking. I like things with an antique look, and just getting the sealer off with steel wool, and given some time and use the brass will take on a patina.

Quick story about horse tack. In the USA as the West was being won, the Horse Mounted Calvary would ride out across our open country and their brass hardware and buckles would shine and reflect the sun and could be seen for miles away. Not good. The enemy would see them coming. So the calvary had a quick method of dipping the brass and making it black, and then could be polished again if necessary. Bad part of the story, I used to know what that method was, but can't remember, and the web site I found it on doesn't have that story anymore. So the local woodworking store came to my rescue.

Andy

[BondoBobCustomSaddles]

Here is an old process that works, but; it does take elbow grease. When I was making black powder rifles, "a long time ago" I wanted my brass to look clean, with a nice "been sitting around for a hundred years " effect. I used to use Bon Ami on a damp rag. You simply wrap the rag around your finger and polish with the bon ami and water paste. Keep going and it will clean the brass, but it won't make it real shiny. If you do the same with the new shiny stuff, it will dull it a little. At some point it will ring both the shiny and dull to the same sheen.

Bondo Bob

[LAPat]

Search google under "antiquing brass" and you will find a lot of information. From what I saw quickly, you suspend the brass (after you remove the laquer with a thinner) over a bowl of vinegar via a nylon stocking. Interesting.

Pat