How do I make my new, bright, and shiny brass bits look less new, bright, and shiny?
Even though your first reaction may be something like “why would you want to?”, its a valid question for restorations. A new needle and spraybar on an old engine, even one that has been cleaned, will stand out until time works its magic and the brass work assumes a respectable patina. Not that I’m advocating this as a fraudulent activity, it’s purely for aesthetic reasons, ‘understand? Anyway, the process was arrived at by Bert Streigler and here’s how he described it: Ron, Don’s old book on making jewelry says that, “Butter of antimony may be applied to brass and allowed to dry. This will oxidize brass very well.” Now, you will say just what is butter of antimony but I don’t have any idea what it is. This same little book has all sorts of info on how to color metals. The book was first printed in 1948, so as I count time that is not too long ago. To assuage my ignorance, I googled butter of antimony and found that it is simply antimony trichloride. It is dangerous to handle, but then
