Blacken It

[Kmot]

Woodybob used a product called Blacken It on his brass stanchions for the rubber tires of his Springer. Looks great when the brass is blackened.

I just got back from the lhs with a bottle of it and after reading the literature I can tell you this is some nasty stuff!! :eek:

So out of curiosity, does anyone have any 'horror stories' to tell about "ooops" while using Blacken It?

[420TEE]

It fades out after a year or two.

[patmat2350]

Has a bitter aftertaste, but you should see my fillings now!
Um, did I say that out loud??

Note that soft solder doesn't blacken, but silver solder does. Ther's plenty of lore on all this, including getting better results with dilute solutions, at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SeawaysShipmodelingList (search messages on "Blacken it solder").

PM

[Hoghappy]

I wrote the below 3 years ago on my schooner site :

http://www.princedeneufchatel.com/wst_page2.html

I just checked to be sure...they (all the blackened brass parts on my schooner) have not faded after 3 years.

Capt. Crash



(Hint: when using "Blacken-It" dilute to 1 part "Blacken-It" to 10 parts water solution. I use 5 teaspoons water and 1/2 teaspoon "Blacken-It" in a plastic cup. This does 2 things, first you get 10 times the solution, second if you use the "Blacken-It" full strength it will corrode the brass in seconds and leave a thick coat of rust on the surface or at best a thick black oxidized layer that will flake...see photo. Dilute and leave in the solution for 10 minutes or until the desired darkness is achieved. Rinse well afterwards.)

[Kmot]

I just tried Blacken It. I have some chain that I wanted to get blackened.

It didn't do a thing to the chain. I do not know what it is made of. But it is non-ferrous.

I tried a 10% solution, 50% solution, and 100% solution.

It blackened brass in a few seconds at 100%. It blacked tin plate in a minute or so.

It didn't do a thing to aluminum (as expected) but the aluminum also did nothing to the solution. I.E. the aluminum didn't desolve and ruin the solution.

[Hoghappy]

That chain might have a clear coat?

Interesting test results. Not a good pic but the brass eyes were put in 100% and rusted in a matter of minutes. The rings were done with a 10% mixture.

Capt. Crash

[patmat2350]

Looks like necklace chain... gold plate maybe? You don't want that link style on a boat model anyway...

[charlie eaton]

Tried it on a brittania metal cleat,it turned a nice medium shade of brown.

[woodybob]

The Blacken-it on Scooter is starting to look like a really nasty bruise that is about 5 days old. It's gone from black, to a greenish, yellowish, blackish kind of color.
This all from one trip to the Dam where the decks were awash. :confused: