Colouring, Bronzing and Patination of Metals

Jewelry Discussion
1

I’m considering purchasing this book from Amazon. Can someone that
owns this book let me know if this book has a large amount of
pictures/colors for silver, or is it geared more toward copper? I’d
like to know beforehand, as the cost of this book is a little steep.
Any suggestions for other books focused on silver patinas? Thanks.

Catherine

2 
    ... let me know if this book has a large amount of
pictures/colors for silver, or is it geared more toward copper?

Catherine, the book does have more stuff specifically for copper and
it’s alloys than it does for silver, but it it the text if you’re
interested in getting in patination in a serious way. Here’s a
rough breakdown:

The Colouring, Bronzing and Patination of Metals, Hughes and Rowe,
1991.

pp.23-46: Metal Coloring Techniques
pp.67-116: Cast Bronze
pp.117-166: Cast Yellow Brass
pp.165-218: Copper and Copper plate
pp.219-268: Gilding Metal
pp.269-316: Sheet Yellow Brass
pp.317-332: Silver and Silver plate

The first chapter generally applies to all metals and procedures,
very useful in terms of getting you up to speed, working safely,
techniques etc. Each of the other chapters has about 200+ recipes
except the chapter on Silver which has about 70 recipes. There is
one page of color plates for Silver, 36 samples on that page.

Hope that helps. Wonderful book by the way if you’re into taking
the methodical, thorough approach. I call these kinds of books
“tomes” 'cause they tell you everything there is to know and then
some.

Cheers,
Trevor F.

3

Catherine, www.addall.com lists copies of this book for less than
Amazon. But before you buy it, have you tried borrowing it through
InterLibrary Loan? It’s a great resource.

Janet

4

It is geared totally for Silicon Bronze, nothing else. If
anyone is going to et it, try http://www.Overstock.com as I
just got a copy for under $50.00 new and no shipping.

John Dach

5 
          It is geared totally for Silicon Bronze, nothing else.
If anyone is going to et it, try http://www.Overstock.com as I just
got a copy for under $50.00 new and no shipping.

John Dach You’re probably thinking of Ron Young’s “Contemporary Patination”, another excellent book on patina and its application.
One of my main gripes about “The Colouring, Bronzing and Patination of Metals” by Richard Hughes and Michael Rowe is that it doesn’t even
consider silicon bronze, which is evidently less popular in the UK
than it is here in the US (where many art foundries use it
exclusively). The cast bronze recipes in this book refer to LG3 and
LG4, which are copper/tin/zinc/lead alloys. It also has recipes for
cast yellow brass, copper and copper plate, gilding metal, yellow
brass sheet, and silver, with color plates illustrating the results
on each. No silicon bronze, though - that’s why you need both
books…

Andrew Werby
www.unitedartworks.com