PATINA BRASS JEWELRY SKIN

Note: It’s important to clean your metal to remove all traces of skin oils and anything else that may resist the patina.

Krylon also has a product that’s pretty much the same thing, and about the same price.

Sealant – I use a clear, matte-finish, spray-on sealant called “Tree House Studio” Clear Acrylic Matte Coating, from Hobby Lobby.

Cotton swabs or other item for applying the rubbing alcohol (I used a plastic knitting needle – swabs were too wide for the area I had).

Rubbing alcohol for removing the Sharpie ink from your metal.

If you can’t go outdoors, please work quickly, safely, and in a VERY well-ventilated area. Warning: Due to the ammonia fumes, I highly recommend doing this project outdoors if at all possible!

A piece of craft wire / Artistic wire about 24 inches (61 cm) long, for hanging your earrings over the ammonia.

I used this 32-ounce yogurt container that conveniently has a clear plastic lid, so I can peek in on the process without opening the lid: The lid should fit pretty tightly.This should be a container you will NOT use for food again.Īlso, this container needs to be tall enough so that when the lid is closed, there’s plenty of room inside for your earrings to hang down from the wire without touching the folded paper towel on the bottom.

Empty plastic grocery container such as the kind used for sour cream, yogurt, cottage cheese, etc.

Wear appropriate protection – gloves, goggles, and breathing protection.

Black Sharpie marker (black works best for the patina resist).

Liquid dish soap (such as Dawn or whatever brand).

These are the earring blanks we made in Part 1: Many commercially-available jewelry and hardware metals have been varnished).

The copper or brass earring blanks we made in Part 1 of this tutorial, Rustic Picture Patina Earrings.(Or other copper or brass item that has NOT been varnished.Use in well ventilated area, preferably outdoors.īefore starting this project, see Homemade Patina Precautions for safety guidelines. Patinas made with ordinary household products may be harmful if ingested, inhaled, or worn against the skin. In the “resist” area, covered by black Sharpie marker, the metal will stay bare of any patina.Īnd as always when working with homemade patinas, we have the thrill of mystery as to exactly what color(s) our metal will turn out to be! Now we’re going to use a simple patina resist with ammonia and a Sharpie pen on the copper or brass earring blanks we made in Part 1 of this tutorial.Ībove you can see the stages going from bare copper to finished surface embellishment. 38 Patina Resist with Ammonia and Sharpie Pen (Tutorial)īy Rena Klingenberg.

Patina brass jewelry