Art Jewelry - Liver of sulfur patina

Art Jewelry Magazine associate editor Jill Erickson shows you how to add a patina using a liver of sulfur solution. Visit www.artjewelrymag.com/howto for more information and videos.

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• Art
• Jewelry
• Magazine
• liver
• sulfur
• patina
• arts
• crafts
• sulphur
• metal
• silver
• copper
• blacken
• antique
• patinate
• jewellery
• chemical
• finished
• clay
• color
• colour

[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]

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!

[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.

[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.

[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!