Creating Patina on Mild Steel

[chunkolini]

Ammonium chloride effectively produces very weak HCl, it gives ammoni and leaves behind a weak Hydrochloric Acid.
the fumes are there but not so bad, you can smell it , but enough to have an effect.

 

[eSCHEn]

Thanks again for the replies. Never did get time tonight to try any as I fell asleep

@chunkolini - thanks for the chemical recommendation, will be using that should the brine and peroxide methods fail to give me the effect I want.

 

[MattF]

You could also use electrolysis in reverse. Have the piece(s) connected as the anode, with a scrap piece of metal as the cathode. That'll induce rusting in no time, and you can do that with nothing more than a bit of bicarb/washing soda/caustic soda, water and a 6V/12V power supply.

You'd obviously want to test with a piece of scrap first, to see how quickly it works. Wouldn't want to leave it in there for too long.

 

[eSCHEn]

I'd actually thought of that Matt but the problem is size - this thing is 1000 x 500 on the base and has another 1000 x 1000 structure welded on top. I could do it before assembly but I want to age the welds and there'll be a lot of bare metal on show when it's assembled.

Spray on and leave sounds nice and lazy to me!

Speaking of electrolysis, gave any thought on how you're going to approach the 20mm round yet?

 

[MattF]

By eck, it's no small thing then. Best way I've found of rusting something is to derust it. Seems to rust away before your very eyes as soon as you clean something up, unless you dry and protect it quicker than a flash.

Not decided which way to go with that round as yet. Can't decide whether to vat it, else whether to just clean it up but without removing what's on there. Don't want to make a start on it before I'm 100% certain which way I want to go with it, otherwise I'll likely end up kicking myself.

 

[eSCHEn]

No it's a life sized roe deer on a great big metal skateboard!

The, I think, screed on the outside looks "interesting" to remove on that round. I'd love to know where it spent its life before I stumbled on to it buried in the mearse.

 

[I'm getting on a bit]

The hydrochloric which Getting-on-a-bit mentioned apparently has a vicious ability to cause rust when the fumes hit steel, according to some who've left a container unsealed in their workshops.

I've also heard it makes the inside of your van continue to rust even after you clean the spill up

 

[chunkolini]

Sounds an interesting project

 

[eSCHEn]

Sounds an interesting project

It's been great fun doing it. First time I've been asked to make something as large as this and it's been a learning curve.

I'm up against a looming deadline and doing this in my spare time so I've not really posted about it yet. I have been keeping a lot of photos as I went along and I'll be doing a wee writeup when I've got it further along/finished.

 

[langy]

Quite amazing, we spend years trying to get rid of it and now its fashionable !!!

 

[MattF]

No it's a life sized roe deer on a great big metal skateboard!

I'd love to see the police reports if that became detached during transportation and went wheeling down the road.

The, I think, screed on the outside looks "interesting" to remove on that round. I'd love to know where it spent its life before I stumbled on to it buried in the mearse.

It's that unknown as to why I'm in two minds with it. If I knew it had just been buried in say a nondescript concrete base or foundation for donkeys, I'd not think twice about a full clean up. Half that crud on it could be some meaningful history though. I'm getting too nostalgic in my old age.

 

[eSCHEn]

Quite amazing, we spend years trying to get rid of it and now its fashionable !!!

As a roe is rusty coloured in real life the effect is really nice.

 

[Kent]

As a roe is rusty coloured in real life the effect is really nice.

It is in its summer pellage grey with darker grey further up in winter though

 

[KemppiFrog]

I do a bit of rusting for an 'artistic' client. Basicly, just drop it in the acid bath to descale, then leave it outside, misting it if the dew or rain doesn't keep it a bit wet.
If big, like the OP's Bambi (did they ever forgive Walt for shooting his mum?) then mix the acid with some wallpaper paste and brush it on. Wait for a bit, then wash it off. Leave to rust, as above.