I've been trying to work on my Steampunk swap for http://ipokedabadgerwithaspoon.blogspot.com/
I have a bunch of these gears collected up to use..
I can't decide on the other elements of the charms. I haven't ever designed anything like this. I'm going to try to go to Michaels Crafts tonight to get some antiqued looking brass and copper materials to use.
Thank you Glenda at http://peppercornminis.blogspot.com/
for the tip about washing all the watch parts with soap and hot water. I wouldn't have thought of that and would have been really mad when the parts wouldn't stick with glue.
8 comments:
Anna - there's a method of suspending brass over vinegar in a jar for a while to age it, can't remember the link at the moment, but if you google 'aging brass' it may help.
I've heard of an American product called Blacken It, so you could google that too.
Forgot to say - thanks for the link! :)
I usually give my old watch parts a straight vinegar bath after "de-greasing". It cleans away any soap and, in some cases, will cause a darkening of the brass, although not always. If you leave the untreated brass exposed to the air, it will darken all by itself in time. :-) Funny thing, I often polish these little gears to get them shiny again! I have not found a product that blackens brass the way some of the antiquing liquids age copper, such as the copper foiling used for stained glass. Brass is tougher.
Tabitha
Forgot to mention... I read somewhere that if you take a small amount of ammonia on a cloth and put the brass piece and the cloth into a sealed plastic bag (not touching), the fumes will cause the brass to take on a natural looking blue-green patina. I have never tried this as I don't use ammonia for anything and haven't felt like buying an entire bottle for something that may or maynot work. But if you have it, it is worth a try.
Tabitha
Apple Cider vinegar with sea salt works really well on some metals, although it can take a couple of days.
They sound like good suggestions Anna, I was going to say I used some sort of chemical when I did stained glass years ago, to make the solder and lead go dark. I would also like to age brass, please let us know if you find a solution?
If you want to make the items look darkend with age, try a mixture of rubbing alcohol and India ink with a ratio of about 10 to 1 alcohol to ink. You "paint" this mixture onto items and let it dry, and it creates a realistic, flat-colored dirtiness to items. I used this on some pewter wheels and aluminum strips on a model of a hand cart. It worked nicely.
George
I am so glad you joined!!! I normally work with natural or paper items so this was soooo much fun for me. I have all my done and waiting to be mailed. I used E6000 glue and everything stayed put nicely. This was so out of my element and I had to really think about it for a day or two. I did add in something from nature..I just had too (it's a secret)! Have fun! xoxoxoxo
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