Part 86

Spread on the copper object a solution composed of:

Acetate or chlorhydrate of ammonia 30 parts Sea salt 10 parts Cream of tartar 10 parts Acetate of copper 10 parts Diluted acetic acid 100 parts

Let dry for 24 to 48 hours at an ordinary temperature. The surface of the metal will become covered with a series of varying tints. Brush with a waxed brush. The green portions soaked with chlorhydrate of ammonia will assume a blue coloring, and those treated with carbonate will be thick and darkened.

«Bronzing and Patinizing of Small Zinc Articles.»—Coatings of bronze tones and patina shades may be produced on zinc by means of various liquids, but the {137} articles, before being worked upon, should be rubbed down with very fine glass or emery paper, to make them not only perfectly metallic, but also somewhat rough, as a consequence of which the bronze or patina coatings will adhere much better. The best bronze or patina effects on bronze are obtained by electroplating the article with a fairly thick deposit of brass rich in copper and then treating it like genuine bronze. The solutions used, however, must always be highly diluted, otherwise they may eat entirely through the thin metallic coating.

«Bronzing of Zinc.»—Mix thoroughly 30 parts of sal ammoniac, 10 parts of oxalate of potash, and 1,000 parts of vinegar. Apply with a brush or a rag several times, until the desired tint is produced.

«Bronze Gilding on Smooth Moldings.»—A perfect substitute for dead gilding cannot be obtained by bronzing, because of the radically different reflection of the light, for the matt gilding presents to the light a perfectly smooth surface, while in bronzing every little scale of bronze reflects the light in a different direction. In consequence of this diffusion of light, all bronzing, even the best executed, is somewhat darker and dimmer than leaf gilding. This dimness, it is true, extends over the whole surface, and therefore is not perceptible to the layman, and cannot be called an evil, as the genuine leaf gold is so spotted that a bronzed surface is cleaner than a gilt one. The following process is the best known at present: Choose only the best bronze, which is first prepared thick with pure spirit. Next add a quantity of water and stir again. After the precipitation, which occurs promptly, the water is poured off and renewed repeatedly by fresh water. When the spirit has been washed out again in this manner, the remaining deposit, i. e., the bronze, is thinned with clean, good gold size. The bronze must be thin enough just to cover. The moldings are coated twice, the second time commencing at the opposite end. Under no circumstances should the dry, dead gilding give off color when grasping it firmly. If it does that, either the size is inferior or the solution too weak or the mixture too thick.

«Incombustible Bronze Tincture.»—Five parts of prime dammar rosin and 1.5 parts of ammonia soda, very finely pulverized. Heat gently, with frequent stirring, until the evolution of carbonic acid ceases. Then take from the fire, and when cool pulverize again. Put the powder into a glass carboy, and pour over it 50 parts of carbon tetrachloride; let this stand for 2 days, stirring frequently, then filter. Ten parts of the fluid are to be mixed with each 5 parts of metallic bronze of any desired shade, and put into bottles. Shake the tincture well before using.

«Bronzing Engraved Ornaments.»—Take bronze and stir with it pale copal varnish diluted one-half with turpentine. With this paint the ornaments neatly. In 1⁠/⁠2 hour the bronze will have dried. The places from which the bronze is to be removed, i. e., where the bronze has overrun the polished surface, are dabbed with a small rag soaked with kerosene, taking care that it is not too wet, so as to prevent the kerosene from running into the ornament. After a short while the bronze will have dissolved and can be wiped off with a soft rag. If this does not remove it entirely, dab and wipe again. Finally finish wiping with an especially soft, clean rag. Kerosene does not attack polish on wood. The bronze must become dull and yet adhere firmly, under which condition it has a hardened color. If it does not become dull the varnish is too strong and should be diluted with turpentine.

«Durable Bronze on Banners.»—To render bronzes durable on banners, etc., the ground must be primed with gum arabic and a little glycerine. Then apply the bronze solution, prepared with dammar and one-tenth varnish. Instead of gum arabic with glycerine, gelatine glue may also be employed as an underlay.

«BRONZE SUBSTITUTES.»

The following recipe is used in making imitation gold bronzes:

Sandarac 50 parts Mastic 10 parts Venice turpentine 5 parts Alcohol 135 parts

In the above dissolve:

Metanil yellow and gold orange 0.4 parts

and add

Aluminum, finely powdered 20 parts

and shake.

If a deeper shade is desired it is well to use ethyl orange and gold orange in the same proportion, instead of the dyes.

For the production of imitation copper bronze take the above-mentioned rosin mixture and dissolve therein only gold {138} orange 0.8 parts, and add aluminum 20 parts, whereby a handsome copper color is produced. Metanil yellow 0.4 parts without gold orange gives with the same amount of lacquer a greenish tone of bronze. The pigments must not be made use of in larger quantities, because the luster of the bronze is materially affected. Only pigments of certain properties, such as solubility in alcohol, relative constancy to reductive agents, are suitable; unsuitable are, for instance, naphthol yellow, phenylene-diamin, etc. Likewise only a lacquer of certain composition is fit for use, other lacquers of commerce, such as zapon (celluloid) lacquer being unsuitable. The bronzes prepared in this manner excel in luster and color effect; the cost is very low. They are suitable for bronzing low-priced articles, as tinware, toys, etc. Under the action of sun and moisture the articles lose some of their luster, but objects kept indoors such as figures of plaster of Paris, inkstands, wooden boxes, etc., retain their brilliancy for years.

Some use powdered aluminum and yellow organic dyestuffs, such as gold orange. These are employed together with a varnish of certain composition, which imparts the necessary gloss to the mixture.

«BRONZE COLORING:»

«To Color Bronze.»—Bronze articles acquire handsome tempering colors by heating. In order to impart an old appearance to new objects of bronze, they may be heated over a flame and rubbed with a woolen rag dipped in finely powdered graphite, until the desired shade is attained. Or else a paste is applied on the article, consisting of graphite 5 parts and bloodstone 15 parts, with a sufficient quantity of alcohol. After 24 hours brush off the dry powder. A hot solution composed of sal ammoniac 4 parts, sorrel salt 1 part, vinegar 200 parts, may also be brushed on. Another way is to dip the pieces into a boiling solution of cupric acetate 20 parts, and sal ammoniac 10 parts, dissolved in 60 to 100 parts of vinegar.

Patent bronzes (products colored by means of aniline dyes) have hitherto been used in the manufacture of toys and de luxe or fancy paper, but makers of wall or stained paper have recently given their attention to these products. Wall—or moiré—paper prepared with these dyes furnishes covers or prints of silken gloss with a peculiar double-color effect in which the metallic brilliancy characteristic of bronze combines with the shades of the tar pigments used. Very beautiful reliefs, giving rise to the most charming play of colors in perpendicular or laterally reflected light, are produced by pressing the paper lengths or web painted with aniline-bronze dyes. The brass brocade and tin bronzes serve as bases for the aniline dyes; of the tar pigments only basic aniline dyes soluble in alcohol are used. In coloring the pulverized bronze care must be taken that the latter is as free as possible from organic fats. Tar dyes should be dissolved in as concentrated a form as possible in alcohol and stirred with the bronze, the pigment being then fixed on the vehicle with an alcoholic solution of tannin. The patent bronze is then dried by allowing the alcohol to evaporate. This method of coloring is purely mechanical, as the tar dyes do not combine with the metallic bronze, as is the case with pigments in which hydrate of alumina is used. A coating of aniline bronze of this kind is therefore very sensitive to moisture, unless spread over the paper surface with a suitable protective binding medium, or protected by a transparent coat of varnish, which of course must not interfere with the special color effect.

«Pickle for Bronzes.»—Sulphuric acid, 1,000 parts; nitric acid, 500 parts; soot, 10 parts; sea salt, 5 parts.

«Imitation Japanese Bronze.»—When the copper or coppered article is perfectly dry and the copper or copper coating made brilliant, which is produced by rubbing with a soft brush, put graphite over the piece to be bronzed so that the copper is simply dyed. Wipe off the raised portions with a damp cloth, so that the copper makes its appearance. Next put on a thin coat of Japanese varnish; wipe the relief again and let dry. Apply 1 or 2 coats after the first is perfectly dry. Handsome smoked hues may be obtained by holding the bronze either over the dust of lighted peat or powdered rosin thrown on lighted coal, so as to obtain a smoke which will change the color of the varnish employed. The varnish must be liquid enough to be worked easily, for this style of bronzing is only applicable to brass.

«Green Bronze on Iron.»—Abietate of silver, 1 part; essence of lavender, 19 parts. Dissolve the abietate of silver in the essence of lavender. After the articles have been well pickled apply the abietate-of-silver solution with a brush; next place the objects in a stove and let the temperature attain about 150° C.

«Blue Bronze.»—Blue bronze is {139} produced by the wet process by coloring white bronze (silver composition) with aniline blue. A blue-bronze color can be produced in the ordinary way from white-bronze color, the product of pure English tin, and with an alum solution consisting of 20 parts of alum in 4,500 parts of water boiled for 5 hours and washed clean and dried. The bronze prepared in this manner is placed in a porcelain dish, mixed with a solution of 15 parts of aniline blue in 1,500 parts of alcohol, stirring the bronze powder and liquid until the alcohol has evaporated entirely and the bronze color becomes dry. This manipulation must be repeated 6 or 8 times, until the desired blue shade is reached. When the bronze is dark enough it is washed out in warm water, and before entirely dry 1 tablespoonful of petroleum is poured on 2 pounds of bronze, which is intimately mixed and spread out into a thin layer, exposed to the air, whereby the smell is caused to disappear in a few days.

«Bronzing with Soluble Glass.»—To bronze wood, porcelain, glass, and metal by means of a water-glass solution, coat the article with potash water-glass of 30° Bé. and sprinkle on the respective bronze powder.