Does anyone know of a coating for copper & brass that would be more
durable than a spray on type of lacquer. Maybe something that bakes?
Does anyone know of a coating for copper & brass that would be more durable than a spray on type of lacquer
I use automotive clear top coat. I spray it on 3 times with long
drying time in between. You have to try various brands before you
find one that’s the right amount of shine for your tastes.
Donna in VA
Does anyone know of a coating for copper & brass that would be more durable than a spray on type of lacquer. Maybe something that bakes?
I’ve never been successful with spray on coatings - eventually they
chip and they are a pain in the you-know-what to remove. But I’ve
been fairly successful in keeping brass and copper from tarnishing by
rubbing it with several coats of Johnson’s Paste Wax and of late,
I’ve been using Turtle Car Wax. Both seem to last for several years.
They are easily removed so you can (if necessary) repolish or touch
up the piece and reapply. But you do need to be sure that there are
no fingerprints on the surface before you wax or otherwise, you will
get tarnishing under the fingerprints. Good luck and if someone has
found some ideal spray-on finish, I’d be interested as well. K
Does anyone know of a coating for copper & brass that would be more durable than a spray on type of lacquer. Maybe something that bakes?
What is your definition of durable, if you mean for coating jewelry
for daily wear then nothing is really any better than lacquer. That
doesn’t mean lacquer is great it is just there are no good solutions
to this problem.
Jim
James Binnion
@James_Binnion
James Binnion Metal Arts
360-756-6550
I use a clear engine spray enamel from the auto supply… Product
called Dupli-Color - Clear DE1636. Whilst we put the items under a
heat lamp afterwards to dry, it’s not necessary.
Since it’s designed for high heat applications (engines) we use it
on things that are likely to get warm (up to 500F) as well as
ordinary trinkets.
Brian
I use automotive clear top coat. I spray it on 3 times with long drying time in between. You have to try various brands before you find one that's the right amount of shine for your tastes.
After reading the above I could not resist suggesting the use of
Underseal, it is very durable but has a matt finish, I sincerely
apologize for being factious.
Sam
I use automotive clear top coat. I spray it on 3 times with long drying time in between. You have to try various brands before you find one that's the right amount of shine for your tastes.
Donna, please define “long drying time”? Minutes, hours, or days?
I’ve never used clear coat, but it’s certainly tough stuff on car
finishes, but on car finishes, each layer of clear coat adds depth
and added refraction to the base paint, does it have a similar effect
on Jewelry? And does that then make the clear coat additional
‘material’, to be disclosed?
Ed
Does anyone know of a coating for copper & brass that would be more durable than a spray on type of lacquer.
Ed, is the copper/brass item to be worn as jewelry or to be hung on
a wall or what?
Judy Bjorkman
Does anyone know of a coating for copper & brass that would be more durable than a spray on type of lacquer. Maybe something that bakes?
I was just discussing this with Jake at GJ Nikolas & Co on Wednesday.
He’s sending me a sample of a polyurethene to try for my brasswork.
He said that it will cure better by baking it and will include a
variety of instructions for me to try. I am searching for a coating
that will allow me to keep a mirror finish on my brass and will be
easy to apply. He said this coating will be able to be airbrushed on
or brushed with a regular natural haired brush (although that may
leave some brushstrokes on the brass). I’ll be testing the product
out within the next two weeks or so - the product should arrive in my
mail by mid-week.
I use automotive clear top coat. I spray it on 3 times with long drying time in between. You have to try various brands before you find one that's the right amount of shine for your tastes.
Donna, please define “long drying time”? Minutes, hours, or days?
I leave it overnight, so usually at least 12 hours. I use it only on
the silver items that I patina, earrings mostly, and yes, I have the
on the earring cards that the jewelry has a sealed
patina. My favorite spray is one I can’t find anymore…StaBrite,
made to seal brass (lamps, furniture). I have items that I made, put
on patina and have worn for 5 or 6 years and the coating hasn’t worn
off.
Donna in VA
Automotive top coat clear spray
After reading the above I could not resist suggesting the use of
Underseal, it is very durable but has a matt finish, I sincerely
apologize for being factious.
Good suggestion, Sam. I’ve tried maybe a dozen different spray
coatings and I prefer more of a matt finish, so I’ll look for this
one next. There is definately a difference in the amount of gloss in
the various products on the market.
Donna in VA
Does anyone know of a coating for copper & brass that would be more durable than a spray on type of lacquer
You could try Parylene. Take a look at the specs…stunning.
http://www.vp-scientific.com/parylene_properties.htm
If there is space available, then one of your pieces (limited 3 inch
diameter) can go in the coater for a free trial run. We have lab
services for both academic and non-academic research. Send me an
email off list.
http://www.eng.uc.edu/erccleanroom/
Specialty Coating Systems also has SCS Parylene Services.
Our very new SCS 2010 Labcoter hasn’t been entered into the system
yet. One of the parylene dimers at 1 gram/run costs us about $4. This
does not include the liquid nitrogen for the cold trap and the long
cycle time, so I would expect that we will charge more than $30/run
for non-academic use.
Sorry if this was not what you were looking for. At least I
refrained from suggesting evaporated quartz. 
Jeff Simkins
Microelectronics Engineer
University of Cincinnati
simkinjrATemail.uc.edu
Does anyone know of a coating for copper & brass that would be more durable than a spray on type of lacquer. Maybe something that bakes?
Try “Future Premium Floor Finish”, $6, from the local hardware
store. Quoting from “Make Magazine, Volume 02”:
Johnson Wax sells Future as a floor polish, but it’s really a clear
acrylic paint. Put it on a clean, reasonably smooth, non-porous
surface and that surface becomes shiny. I use it on model rockets to
protect the decals and make a slick aerodynamic finish, but you could
use it on all sorts of projects.
Future thins and cleans up with water. I apply it with a slightly
damp foam brush, but I’ve heard of people using it with an airbrush.
It’s best applied on hot, dry days; humidity causes it to fog up.
Future cures hard enough for a new coat after a couple of hours.
After a couple of days, it dries hard enough to be buffed and
polished with a clean, soft cloth.
Stefan Jones.
Hi Sebastien,
Future thins and cleans up with water.
Yes, but… I used to use Future on my floors (great stuff) and I
learned one lesson the hard way: Once it dries, it is really hard
to remove, so clean up any spills immediately. And if you set the
bottle down on a counter after pouring some out, be sure the bottom
of the bottle is dry. Otherwise you’ll end up with
bottle-bottom-shaped patches of shiny stuff on your matte countertops
(which is what happened to me!).
I’m sure there’s something that will remove the stuff, but I
couldn’t find it at the time! It took a couple of years for the
coating to wear off, and that was despite regular cleanings with
abrasive cleanser!
Beth
P.S. I stopped using it because it was no longer available at the
supermarket. I thought it was discontinued. I didn’t know it was sold
at hardware stores, so thanks!
I think I mentioned this before, but bronze sculpture is routinely
protected with a coat of Butcher’s Bowling Alley Wax. I use it on
copper and it works just fine. It dries in 5 minutes and buffs to a
nice shine. Outdoors on sculpture, it is only reapplied every six
months.
Brian Corll
Brian Corll, Inc.
1002 East Simpson Street
Mechanicsburg, PA 17055
Tel.: (717) 691-0286
I think I mentioned this before, but bronze sculpture is routinely protected with a coat of Butcher's Bowling Alley Wax. I use it on copper and it works just fine. It dries in 5 minutes and buffs to a nice shine. Outdoors on sculpture, it is only reapplied every six months.
And herein lies the problem: reapplied every six months… When
making jump ring jewelry or wire sculpture work, you cannot expect
the buyer to reapply a protective coating - ever - let alone every
six months. This would be great for larger pieces, but for my
purposes, it just isn’t feasible.
Betty