Chemically blacking steel - help needed.

you might want to try contacting David Marks. He knows a lot about all those different chemical concotions. You can email him from this site

Greetings…from my old stained glass days I used copper sulphate and water…test first …it will turn things blackish..and caution as this stuff was originally used as poison! Here’s a good site
http://www.shootersolutions.com/gunbluingkit.html

-- Cedrus of British Columbia

They sell a cold black oxide solution here in the states. You could probably find it there also.

Just clean it with acetone and dip it for a while.

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

I find that gun bluing works well. Heat bluing as it is sometimes called works well. If there are any sporting shops that offer black powder rifle and shotgun kits should have the bluing. Just follow the instructions…...that’s about it.

There is a black Parkerizing solution available – I am going to use it on a couple of metal planes, but have been waiting for the weather to warm up as it involves heating a weak acid solution to a boil, and leaving the part immersed in the bath for twenty minutes. I have been told in no uncertain terms that this procedure will not occur in the kitchen. I’ll keep you posted.

-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.

Gentlemen, thank you. I knew the answers would be out there. Quite a few approaches to experiment with. I’ll be reporting back in the fullness of time.

-- Res severa verum gaudium - True pleasure is a serious business.

Loctite

Yup, believe it or not but there is one requirement. The metal must be rusted.

Placing loctite on rusted metal starts a chemical reaction that turns the metal black— no paint needed.

I know of a person who makes outdoor sculptures with rusted parts and he mentioned to me that this is the system.
http://yard-garb.com/index.html
I have never tried it, but have seen the results.

-- There is no such thing as scrap wood!, http://www.saltrivergallery.com

David Marks has a link on his site to a chemical company that sells just what you need.

-- making sawdust....

Any trappers out there? I seem to remember boiling traps in water and red oak bark to blacken them.

-- Fred.... Poconos, PA ---- Chairwright in the making ----