Subject: Re: Promoting rust

From: [email-masked] (Dan Hughes)
Date: Fri, 14 Jun 1996 12:19:59 -0400

>Watching the discussion on descaling steel, I have a question that comes
>to mind...
>
>I make certain sculpture out of 16ga sheet steel (hot roll). I want to
>rust it - FAST - and then seal that rust. I have had *great* success using
>vinegar and other times I can't get vinegar to work at all!
>
>It seems (1) that the steel must be clean, and (2) the humidity must be
>high and the steel should set in sunlight for optimum results. I simply
>lay the piece so the surface which I'm trying to rust is flat, apply
>vinegar liberally (usually with a small paint brush) and voila...
>literally overnight I can get a brilliant, orange, surface rust. ... but
>then again I can't (sometimes). The key is that I want a bright orange
>rust, not a dull, weathered sort of rust look.

The orange rust results when the oxide layer is not very thick. As the
layer gets thicker and the metal becomes pitted you have the dull,
weathered sort of rust look. Also if you put a sealer on even the orange
rust it will darken. They have special techniques and solutions to rust
steel available in gunsmithing books and catalogs. They call it browning
because the result is a brown color.
To get uniformity the steel has to be absolutely clean and free of scale
(bright) at the start.

>
>Has anyone perfected a similar process who could shed some light on why I
>have such variances? I wonder if the sheet of 16ga hot roll that I use has
>anything to do with it? What other material would rust the steel in a more
>controlled manner?
>
>Thanks in advance.
>
>Jeff Reiter
>Frankfort, IL
>[email-masked]

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From: Tom Vincent <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 14 Jun 1996 19:11:54 -0500 (CDT)

Actually, I accidently got a nice bright orange rust on a piece with 
regular strength ammonia. It wasn't a controlled test, the piece already 
had gun bluing on it, which left overnight usually gives a nice dark 
rust. Fortunately, the customer didn't mind.