Mindy Gardner
Flood Plain Forge
Brass Brush
An area that you would like to have a “gold” or “brass” color you can brush the area with a brass brush ( a small brass brush on a Dremel tool works very well). Always wear safety glasses when doing this! Then heat the area with a small propane torch. If more color is wanted, brush and heat again, watch color carefully. I have also used a steel wire brush after the above process to remove the brass from the area and the oxidation colors will show through where the brass has been removed.
Oxidation or Tempering Colors
To achieve the tempering colors on steel you first remove the scale. I do this by sanding the area With 80 grit sandpaper. Follow with the red 3M pads. Buff to remove lines left from sand paper. You can also do the removal of the scale with a wire wheel, but the overall results are not as pleasing. Tempering colors appear when you heat the steel to various temperatures below black heat and forging heat. Think about the colors you can get using this method and the temperature required to get the color. If you want an area to be light blue it will have to be heated to around 610 degrees. That is one of the highest temperatures used in this process. Do the area you want the light blue color first. Since the colors “run” other areas will also turn different colors. To remove unwanted colors use a red 3M pad or small wire brush on the Dremel tool or a fine polishing point that is also used in a Dremel tool. You can get into very fine areas with a point. After this is done color an area requiring the next highest heat and progress to the area requiring the lowest heat. Work slow, watch the colors and let the metal cool between colors.
Experiments with Coloring
Rust is great for leaves, apple cider vinegar works well for this. Remove scale first.
Sandblasting and tempering colors also creates interesting colors, but do not expect the same results as you get with the polished steel. To finish you must use a boiled linseed oil, turpentine and Japan drier finish or all will be lost.
Sandblasting and then mixing artists oil paint with the boiled linseed, turpentine, Japan drier mixture finish also works well. (Japan Drier can be bought at home improvement stores, Lowe’s, Home Depot, Art Supply store etc.)
The above also works on steel that has not been sandblasted.
Finish
For a one pound coffee can, mix 60% boiled linseed oil and 40% turpentine, add 8 ounces of Japan or pale drying oil. You can use less of the driers, but drying time will increase. Apply this mixture with a clean paint brush. Make sure you do not have any drips or areas that too much finish has run into. Allow to dry completely before applying any other finish or wax or it will orange peel. If the piece will be handled a lot, or there are tempering colors, I apply a spar varnish over the oil finish. Let the varnish dry completely. The final coating is 3 coats of Johnson’s paste wax. This is also applied with a paint brush used solely for this purpose. Let the wax dry to a haze and buff with a soft bristle brush (new, and only used for this purpose).
