How to Age Brass and Bronze with Just Salt and Vinegar

A really quick visual guide of how I aged my shiny brass and bronze handles for our kitchen.
The full 'How To' is over on the blog, if you want a more detailed explanation of how I did this.
It's really simple and can save you a small fortune!
thelistedhome.co.uk/how-to-ag...

[@iplayloud2]

It's really the vinegar fumes that do the patina. If you want a very even and dark patina, polish the part first, then put in an enclosed container with vinegar. You can use a larger tupperware, and use a small spacer to lift the brass part out of the vinegar pool. The put the lid on and wait 8h.

[@LitoGeorge]

Thank you! I will be doing this on a new brass ferrule, that's going on an approximately 145 year old drawknife. You're part of history 👍😁

[@thelistedhome]

That's very exciting!!! Good luck with it 🙂

[@LitoGeorge]

@@thelistedhome thanks :) It turned green (like slightly aged copper) and mottled pink. The ferrule came from a store known for its quality, and I removed all the lacquer on it with fine sandpaper prior to leaving in the solution. Cleaned it with acetone to remove grease too. Also tried with (I believe chlorinated) bleach for an hour upon suggestion from another commenter. Worked, but not very well. Back in the salt/vinegar solution. I found that the fumes are more important than the liquid, and I got the quickest effect when the closed jar was tilted with the piece on the "dry" side.

[@thelistedhome]

@@LitoGeorge Yes! The fumes are definitely more effective than the solution itself. Some of mine went very salmon coloured initially. I persevered and in some cases got an almost verdigris finish. The ones that I didn't like the finish on, I used Brasso to clean the surface and bring the shone back - then just started again and repeated the process.
Some of my handles worked perfectly, first time round. Others took a couple of goes to get right.
I've not had a fail yet!
Great to hear that you had success in the end! :)
thelistedhome.co.uk/how-to-age-brass-and-bronze-with-vinegar-and-salt/

[@LitoGeorge]

@@thelistedhome thank you very much. Read the article, liked it ☺️ I have found that I can remove lacquered brass coatings by boiling the vinegar in a pot with a lid, no salt required, and it will come off by itself. I have left it in the solution and reboiled several days over 4-5 days, and find extraordinary rust build up on the items (hinges and drawer pulls) and a simple rinse in come water took all that of, revealing the brass underneath in an aged way. I also have the verdigris look on other brass items because I'm told that the copper in brass has started to disintegrate from the acid. All good. TX for the online camaraderie 👍

[@Saraz_kitchen]

nice job 👍👍

[@thelistedhome]

Thank you!

[@mail06513]

Thank you.

[@lunanadine1048]

I remember seeing this on Instagram! Thank you for sharing on here as I forgot to save it 🙈

[@thelistedhome]

Thanks so much Luna!

[@grandpiano294]

Can I use this on copper table top ?

[@gwenwilliams6014]

Trying to figure out how to antique home interiors big oval brass frames not sure if the brass is even real may be fake

[@Ms.MD7]

Can I just submerge it the vinegar solution?

[@thelistedhome]

No - it's more the fumes from the liquid (than the actual liquid mix) that causes the metal to oxidise :)

[@kaseki_07]

Can we use brass ager on bronze??

[@thelistedhome]

Hello - yes the salt/vinegar solution works brilliantly on bronze as well as brass :) thelistedhome.co.uk/want-to-learn-how-to-age-bronze-quickly-with-no-harsh-chemicals/