Art Jewelry - Liver of sulfur patina

[artjewelrymag]

There are different techniques for etching metal. I recommend searching for "etch" in our forums under the "community" tab at artjewelrymag[dot]com and in our project search at artjewelrymag[dot]com/projects­.

[deblockrol]

thanks so much!

what solution would you recommend if i wanted to etch metal?

[deblockrol]

thanks so much!

[drtebi]

It works on base metal as well, at least on bronze it will work nicely, I have just done it the other day. The colors will probably vary, although black can always be achieved after a longer period--and black looks great on bronze.

[deblockrol]

does this work on base metals as well?

[artjewelrymag]

@deblockrol Christine Cox has written a booklet (available through Volcano Arts, volcanoarts[dot]com) “Coloring Base Metals: A Practical Guide” that would be helpful. Volcano Arts sells a patinating solution specifically for brass, nickel silver, bronze, and copper. They claim it has a milder odor than liver of sulfur. Have fun experimenting!

[TheMermaidsiren1]

I was told if you take the torch to the piece now that it will go rainbow?

[lorinp1]

This was a really helpful tutorial. Thank you.

[AdinJewelry]

beautiful video!

Love is not a matter of counting the years. It's to make the years count.

Greetings from Antwerp!

[svenskjim]

How do you dispose of the solution? Any problem with pouring down the drain?

[artjewelrymag]

Liver of sulfur is a mild acid, so you can neutralize it with baking soda - just pour the baking soda in and wait for the fizzing to stop. Then you can dispose of the solution by rinsing it down the drain, or in your toilet. NOTE: Some plumbing systems are more sensitive than others, particularly septic systems. Always check with your local area to make sure that's the safest way to discard of this chemical.

[SuzanneRowdySmith]

@artjewelrymag thank you for this. I was really wondering. How about pickle... do you dispose of that the same way???

[artjewelrymag]

@SuzanneRowdySmith Yes, baking soda will neutralize the pickle, after much fizzing and foaming. But baking soda will NOT remove the accumulated copper particles in the pickle. So the spent and neutralized pickle is still considered hazardous waste. You can collect your old pickle in a plastic container with a tight-fitting lid and label it well for proper disposal at a collection site. Search for the hazardous waste collection program in your area to learn where you can dispose of spent pickle.

[jamiriaseeger]

liver of sulpher is dangerous??

[artjewelrymag]

It's not "wear a toxic space suit" sort of dangerous. But yes, there are reasons to wear gloves and work in a well-ventilated area. It's good to be cautious around any chemical.

[JessDiz]

Why can't you just use instant oxidizer for this if you're just trying to get a black patina? It's much much faster, usually blacker and much safer.

Also, does anyone know how to get different specific colours with sterling silver, copper, brass etc?

[artjewelrymag]

You definitely can. There are plenty of patinas and blackeners available on the market - just follow the manufacturers' instructions. We chose to feature liver of sulfur because it's easily the most popular and traditional patina.

[JessDiz]

Do you have any suggestions for specific colour patinas? I haven't been able to find anything useful thus far.

Thanks for your quick reply

[artjewelrymag]

There are a number of great books on this topic:

*Japanese Patinas by Eitoku Sugimori

*The Colouring, Bronzing and Patination of Metals by Richard Hughes and Michael Rowe *The Jeweler's Directory of Decorative Finishes: From Enameling and Engraving to Inlay and Granulation by Jinks McGrath

*Coloring Base Metals by Christine Cox

(available at volcanoarts)

There are tons of recipes & result photos in those books. Hope that helps!

[theresa5]

Hi. Can you reuse the liver of sulfur patina after its been reused? I really appreciate your time on the information in your videos. Thank you, Theresa.

[mtoinma]

No, within a few hours of use, the solution gets too weak to use again. It's very inexpensive!