Brown Patina Conversion

[jeffery c]

Originally Posted by Breck Gorman

http://www.morana-rtd.com/e-preserva...30-12-2012.pdf

Queen Victoria’s coronation gown. Once in 1837 a rich black silk, but over time and exposure turned to a mottled brown. Very similar process to what happens to barrels. Common denominator, logwood dye.

Brits recommend that their best barrels get re-blacked every couple years.

Interesting to read that. We're at least getting a handle on our own more recent history. I remember reading when they started bringing up longbows and staves from the Mary Rose that there was not a single longbow in the UK preserved from the time of their period of use as a military weapon. Our ancestors will be in better shape regarding Parkers at least.

[Tom Flanigan]

Originally Posted by jefferyconnor

I looked around the internet a little bit. I may have been remembering reading about ferric chloride which is evidently used as a step before carding in basic finishing. The dip time is referred to as very short, like 10 seconds for that purpose. Does anyone recall it's use to freshen up Damascus finishes? The other possibility is logwood which blackens traps. Has anyone ever tried boiling old barrels in a logwood solution?

I have boiled old brown barrels to bring back some of the black finish. It works, but not the same on every gun. I guess it depends on the degree of brown. I wouldn’t use ferric chloride to try to get contrast back on old barrels that are not to be totally refinished. Ferric chloride will diminish the dark parts of the Damascus barrels also but to a lesser degree than the “white” areas.

On guns to be totally refinished, I card before the ferric chloride bath and I dip five seconds at the most. I have used Logwood but found its effectiveness minimal. I no longer use it. I would caution against using heroic means to try to restore original barrels with contrast. Other than boiling, they should not be messed with unless they need a complete refinish.

[Jim Kremmel]

There is a gunsmith in the Charleston, SC area named Mark Novak that uses boiling water and carding as part of conservation. I bought a real basket case Crescent single barrel 12 ga to try this on, and was shocked how much original finish was under the rust. In his YouTube videos, he boils the parts for about an hour then cards off the converted rust with degreased steel wool or a very soft carding wheel. To remove any residual water he soaks the parts in kerosene. I don’t know this gentleman but his gun repair/restoration videos are excellent.