Protective coating for patina

[VickyCaramel]

I have some brass stuff on order from FastTech which I am going to force a patina on. I have experimented a bit and I am pretty confident that I know what I'm doing.

I plan on doing a Caravela and Kraken with light patina that gives it some depth and colour.

I am also planning on doing a GP Paps mod in a very heavy patina so that it turns green/blue.

There seems to be two methods of sealing in patinas which are a varnish and wax.


I can see that with some kind of varnish/lacquer, the advantage is that you can sand it smooth and re-apply coats until you have a perfect finish. My concern with this method is that you are lacquering over corrosion and that the mod might continue to corrode under the lacquer causing it to flake off.


I can see how certain waxes such as bees wax might work better. As long as they don't have a powdering residue, and don't stay wet, i think they would be a good preservative which could be re-applied. But you are only sealing in the finish you have, you can't really keep sanding it smooth. And they won't be all that hard-wearing.

I have thought of using acrylic floor polish. It dries very clear and is tough enough that you can walk on it. I certainly think it might be a good coating for light patinas which have little for a coating to key to.

Does anyone have any thoughts? Had any experience?

 

[Hemulin]

In theory its a good idea but nearly every varnish/lacquer is designed for a certain material & will not take very well to a material its not designed for,you can get lacquer designed for metal but it needs a clean keyed (sanded) surface to grip onto or it will just flake of very easily,ive had this happen now & again due to not preping the surface properly(im a painter & decorator). i have 2 brass mods & i just clean them with antibacterial hand wipes,it keeps the patina but removes the gunk your hands leave on it. Dont really have any experience using wax so have no idea if that would work.

 

[Diche]

The key to most corrosion is oxidation. If you prevent oxygen reaching the surface of the metal corrosion stops.

 

[sparkyjuice]

Clear gun top coat ?


Sent from (who cares) using Planet of the Vapes

 

[u8myufo]

@ I did this one a while back now,was not entirely happy with the patina so I added some gold and silver flakes to it.I did finish it with a spray clear laquer and it worked ok for me.

 

[Hammy]

Have a look here, there's loads of advice and help, https://www.facebook.com/groups/1400970210164174/, that's if you use facebook ofc.

 

[tinyredpostbox]

I saw vern from verns vapes do a review on a coating called protectaclear. It's kinda pricey at around £22 delivered but looks like the test kit will be enough for loads of mods.

Test Kit - ProtectaClear

 

[Hammy]

I saw vern from verns vapes do a review on a coating called protectaclear. It's kinda pricey at around £22 delivered but looks like the test kit will be enough for loads of mods.

Test Kit - ProtectaClear

Even at 15.50 it's still expensive, the ppl on that facebook group seem to prefer engine clearcoat/lacquer. i'd have a look in Halfords.

 

[Loco]

the ppl on that facebook group seem to prefer engine clearcoat/lacquer. i'd have a look in Halfords.

+1 On that, most people suggest that stuff works the best, probably as its hard wearing and can stand up to temperature. For a cheaper option i picked up some Plastikote hobby enamel, lots of thin coats and allowed to dry each time, worked perfectly for me.

 

[VickyCaramel]

If engine lacquer works, it works. No need to go looking elsewhere. I wonder if you need to coat light patinas though.