Gold Plating 420 SS+Bronze?

Hey there,

I have done some home post processing on stainless steel rings by putting the components on a gas fire stove top till red hot then quenching in cold water.

I did not do this evenly or slowly but with the reckless abandon of experimentation.

The parts did go a very nice matt black but it also increased the 'tea staining' (rust discoloration) if worn on the finger.

The process is kinda fun to do and great if you want to make your items a little more on the punk side of the steampunk scale. It also provides a nice contrast to details if you heat treat then re polish the surfaces so any negative parts are left blackened.

Hi all,
In the case of the SW "Antique Bronze" finish, this is definitely achieved by the heat process I described. But yes, color effects on the SS media, (patina) can also be done with chemical solutions. Shades of brown and black are pretty easy to produce with homemade or off the shelf formulas. What is so nice about the heat process is that it costs less, is environmentally neutral and works as good or better than chemicals.

Here is a bit more information on heat coloring. Above a certain temperature, which varies with each particular type of metal, the so called interference colors will fade to gray/black. If temperature increases to red heat most metals will begin to form a scale like layer of oxide (firescale). Surfaces are now entering a new state of being! Sometimes this effect can produce esthetically pleasing effects and sometimes not. It should not be surprising that this firescale will corrode (tea stain) more rapidly when against the skin. Moisture, and skin oils can induce the black oxide layer to change into a rust brown oxide. Isn't inorganic chemistry fun?

-G