Patina Tips and Tricks for Copper

First, you can use liver of sulfur. Otherwise known as the stinky bath. There are a couple of things to know about using liver of sulfur. First, it is a chemical. It will have to be neutralized in a baking soda and water bath. You should not rinse it down your drain into city sewer. Also, use in a well ventilated area and wear your safety glasses and a mask. Safety should always come first.

In a glass or plastic container, suitable for the size of jewelry to patina, squeeze a quarter size drop into the bottom of the container. Add water. And stir. It should be a strong yellow color. Drop your metal in and pull when it is black. Rinse in the baking soda/water solution to stop the patina process and neutralize the chemical.

More info when using liver of sulfur. Warm or hot water will cause a quicker and darker coloration on the metal. You can get this by boiling water in a kettle or using hot tap water. A coffee mug warmer works great to keep Liver of Sulfur warm if you going to be using it several times.

Another option for adding color or patina to copper is with a torch. This might be my all-time favorite. With a small butane torch, you can create beautiful right colors with a flame.
Place your metal on a heat safe surface, turn on your torch. Gently and slowly heat up the copper. You will see the copper color get very bright. Let it cool at little, then go back in with the torch. By letting it heat up and cool again, your colorations will be more dramatic.

My last tip is to use a Sharpie marker. This method works great with textured metal. You can add texture with a variety of tools. When you are finished texturing your copper, color it with a Sharpie. Then let dry.

As you can see from the photo, there are all three methods of adding color to copper displayed. The top three washers are heat treated, the two on the second row are colored with a Sharpie and the final three were dipped in liver of sulfur.