Aging Steel

[Guest bkelm18]

Got a question for the gurus out there. I've got a medieval type weapon, the head of which is made of 5150 steel, however it is painted gloss black. Not very authentic looking. I want to strip the paint off and refinish or treat the metal so that it looks aged, or at least a bit more authentic. Any ideas? Forced patina? Some other type of chemical process? Thanks!

[Mike.357]

what kind of weapon?

[Guest bkelm18]

It's a warhammer.

[Guest bkelm18]

I did some work on a movie set once. And , I noticed the set builders making new tin look like it was 100 yrs old.

I asked what they were using and they told me it was Surfic Acid . The reason I noticed. It was smoking like crazy as they sprayed it on the new tin. They had some pretty cool tricks .

Yeah, that's basically a forced patina. That's probably going to be the route I'm going to take if nothing else catches my fancy.

[Mike.357]

warhammer? I googled it and that is pretty open ended.

I am not so sure about reproducing patina.

I might clean it up and make it look nice, doubt it is worth anything. Some vinegar and steel wool might give some effect.

FWIW I like that kind of crap too.

[Guest rebeldrummer]

Many use Etchant solution or Mercuric acid

[Handsome Rob]

Easiest way (I've done this on a lot of knife blades & muzzleloaders) is plain Clorox bleach. Strip off the paint & spray on a good coat of Clorox. Run your shower until the room is humid & steamy & then leave your hammer in there for 10-15 minutes. It'll be very rusty & it'll be starting to get pitted. 'Card' off the rust with a rough cloth & see where it's at. Be careful, because this works VERY quickly. You can rinse & repeat as much as you like to get it as rough-looking as you need.

Once it's where you want it to be, patina-wise, wash very thoroughly with a baking soda

[Guest bkelm18]

warhammer? I googled it and that is pretty open ended.

I am not so sure about reproducing patina.

I might clean it up and make it look nice, doubt it is worth anything. Some vinegar and steel wool might give some effect.

FWIW I like that kind of crap too.

I'm not doing it to make it worth more, it only costs $40. I just want it to look more authentic. It's the Cold Steel Warhammer:

A friend got it as a gift for me since I'm into medieval stuff. I'm going to refinish the handle to maybe a walnut or dark oak color. I just don't like the gloss black paint.

[Mike.357]

I have seen them at gunshows. they are cool looking and could leave a mark if used as intended.

maybe try some steel wool on it. It will soften the blackness and maybe make it look used.

refinshing the handle will help a lot.

[Guest bkelm18]

I have seen them at gunshows. they are cool looking and could leave a mark if used as intended.

maybe try some steel wool on it. It will soften the blackness and maybe make it look used.

refinshing the handle will help a lot.

Oh yeah it's definitely functional. On the Cold Steel page for it they have a video of the spike going through armor and phone books. The handle is hickory, so you can definitely pound something with it. Could definitely cause some mayhem. I didn't think of the steel wool. I might try that to take the shine off of it.

[mav]

Many use Etchant solution or Mercuric acid

What is mercuric acid? I have never heard of it. I tried a google search and couldn't find an answer.

I am wondering if people mean muriatic (hydrochloric) acid.

[Guest Broomhead]

Pool shock will do the same as the Clorox, only much much faster, and may get better results. I used a box cutter to open a package of that stuff this summer and the blade was pitted and rusted before an hour was up. That was without the heat and moisture from a shower.

You may also try stripping the paint and slathering on condensed tomato soup. I know the soup will clean copper a heck of a lot faster/better than vinegar. I have no experience with aging metal with the soup though.

I'll be watching for results though, I'm interested. Keep us updated.

[peejman]

What is mercuric acid? I have never heard of it. I tried a google search and couldn't find an answer.

I am wondering if people mean muriatic (hydrochloric) acid.

That's what they mean. It's a common mispronunciation which leads to misspelling.

Clorox, muriatic acid, nitric acid, ammonia, vinegar, orange juice, tomato soup, brake fluid... pretty much anything corrosive will work. It's just a matter of how much time you want to take.

If you want to be semi-authentic, strip the paint and bury it a foot or so deep in the yard. Dig it up next spring.

[Guest bkelm18]

If you want to be semi-authentic, strip the paint and bury it a foot or so deep in the yard. Dig it up next spring.

Now how would I use it if the zombies come knocking? It needs to be battle ready at all times!

Here's what I'm aiming for:

(Not my photo. Taken from: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/620542-Vinegar-Bluing/page2)

That's the head from a Cold Steel Norse Hawk, which comes with the same painted finish. This is supposedly from 15 minutes in a hot vinegar bath.

[Handsome Rob]

For a plain gray color (like shown above) go to your local hardware store a buy a bottle of Naval Jelly. It'll have it looking like that in 10 minutes.