Ted, I hate to differ with yo on the best patina book, but I find
the book you have suggested is a VERY POOR choice. Nice for the
coffee table but as a useful book for patinas, it is a VERY hit and
miss item. Was and is expensive, many, and I mean MANY
formulas/directions do not work or do not work very well. It is an
expensive book and as a usable book in the shop, for me anyway, it
is not. To me THE very best, most accurate and most repeatable
coloration book for bronze is the Patination of Silica Bronze. All
of those formulas work. There are other books and lots of
about coloring other metals, if one wants to take the
time and put in the energy, they could put together a pretty great
"book" of formulas and how tops just from the web.
Boy today I am Mr. negative, but patinas are difficult to do well
and repeatable so I get “bothered” when I see "that, at
least to/for me, is inaccurate or just wrong. I have been dealing
with patinas, mostly in bronze and if picky, Everdure alloy. I do
work with other metals but primarily with that particular alloy of
bronze and alloy differences can make huge patina differences with
the same patina formula and chemistry. To me, trying for short cuts
in patination is like cooking out of a box verses REALLY cooking the
food. Again, this is just my feelings, but if one is going to do
something, might we strive to “do it” as fine as possible and not
some short cut way to just “get it done”?
john dach