Hi All,
I am just about done with engraving a Uberti replica Henry rifle which has a brass receiver. Any suggestions for a coating that I might apply to the brass to keep it from tarnishing?
clean it up good and spray it with either spray laquer or krylon artists fixative..or let it tarnish and look olde. You can also take some caseys tru oil and dilute it till its fairly runny..then brush on a coat to cover. don't over work it.
Hey Guy's Thanks,
Some how I have to keep the brass shiney. While I am engraving the receiver and butt plate my customer has sent the barrel and all other blued parts out to be shiney nickle plated. The stock is out for refinishing and checkering. The glare will get ya when we put this sucker together.
Marty, I called Mike Ahlman(a southern Minnesota gun guru) with the same question and he said was using a MinWax wiping poly.
i have tried the clear lacquering and coating. if the thing is going to be handled only infrequently, go for that. if it will get a lot of handling, i'd shy away from that stuff. it will sometimes flake and scratch. when this occurs , you have nothing short of a first class mess to contend with. i would sooner leave the brass raw, and let it develop a natural patina. i know this would look far more attractive than the krylon or whatever.
I agree with Marty and Monk. Engraving looks better with age and patina, but you must do what your customer requires. Personally I would just polish it once and a while with brass polish (brasso), but of course some clients don't have the best of taste. Are you going to let us have a look Roger?............Ron S
This is a tough one. What the customer wants, ya gotta give, but IMO brass looks tremendous when patinated... (is that a word?) and terrible when the whole thing is simichromed until it is a mirror.
There isn't a lacquer made that will withstand true use, but if the gun is purely a display piece, then the clear coatings will do the trick. If it were my gun, I'd use a silicone or jeweler's cloth on it periodically, say once a week, to keep the high spots and corners with a mellow shine, and let the lower and protected portions gracefully age. Maybe someone knows how to artificially age brass and not wreck it or turn it green. I haven't found one yet.
Hi Tim,
Believe I met you in Reno. Yep the Henry has been done for a couple of months. My customer finally got thegun last weekend. I finally finished the brass with a couple of coats of Deft clear Danish Oil. I've used this stuff over old varnish finish on hardwood floors in a couple of rental units I have and it seems to resist wear quite well. For the two months that it has been on display it hasn't tarnished. Takes 2-3 days to dry in North Dakota, takes 2-3 weeks to dry in Georgia.
I think that I got this photo thing to work. My customer wanted all blued parts shiney nickle plated which is not a traditional finish so I decided to do a more contemporary style of engraving rather than a traditional style of engraving.
Roger, Very bold- wonderful job in the shading and design-it will certainly catch your eye from across the room-things do dry alittle slower since this Dakota boy came to Georgia-Fred