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 Rank: Super-Elite        Groups: Registered
Joined: 11/11/2009 Posts: 3,432 Points: 10,280 Location: Bâe Colwyn, Wales
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Firstly, You need to buy blackener, mine was from CMB. Also some Alcohol solution or degreaser. I use Isopropyl Alcohol from the chemists(Only from Chemists as its very inflammable and is used in explosives so is only sold in 1/2 litre bottles).Also needed are various sized plastic only pots/cups or tubs.
First you need to put your brass parts in the Alcohol for 10 minutes and swish around to degrease them.
Then prepare your solution which is mixed 1:1 with water. The weaker the solution the lighter the Black. Hot water Activates the process quicker but don't boil the solution.(cold water slow process/warm water faster process).
Next put the Brass part into clean water and move around and lightly scrub the part.Being careful not to handle too much.
Remove from the water and put into the solution wet. Stir the part around with WOODEN spatula( Plank in my case). Leave for 15 minute stirring every now and then. check for coverage and leave for longer if required.( I Leave mine for a few hours but if stubborn over night is ok.)
Personally I got a jug of hot water. My solution was in a plastic cup so I sat it on the water so it warmed the solution.
Once coloured to the shade required remove the part from the solution with tweezers or long nose pliers and rinse in cold water. Place on paper towel until dry. You will notice a black powdery coating get a small soft cloth an Buff the part which will uncover your hard work.
Chris...
BEWARE>>>>>> The solution is toxic so follow the instructions provided for the handling of the solution>>>>>>>magpie1832 attached the following image(s): On the bench 1/350 Revell Tirpitz Platinum Edition (Pontos PE and Wooden deck) plus extra Eduard PE set and extra MK1 door sets.
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 Rank: Pro Groups: Joined: 24/08/2009 Posts: 48,051 Points: -13,308
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Good stuff Chris  Cross-section builders may find this useful for issue 139
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 Rank: Vice-Master  Groups: Registered
Joined: 13/02/2012 Posts: 651 Points: 1,903 Location: croydon
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Hi Chris. Thats exactly how i did mine on the serprise cannons and it does look great . Will you be doing more of your serprise Chris ?. Best regards. Mark
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Rank: Super-Elite  Groups: Registered
Joined: 24/04/2010 Posts: 5,787 Points: 17,662 Location: Stafford, United Kingdom
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Hi Chris, thanks for posting, very useful tutorial Regards Mike MWG BUILD DIARIES: HMS VICTORY, SOVEREIGN OF THE SEAS, SAN FRANCISCO II, HMS HOOD, HMS ENDEAVOUR LONGBOAT, HMS VICTORY X-SECTION, 007 DB5, NISSAN GTR, CUTTY SARK, RB7, AKAGI, BARK HMS ENDEAVOUR, HUMMER H1, MITSUBISHI ZERO.
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Rank: Pro Groups: Joined: 24/08/2009 Posts: 48,051 Points: -13,308
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It can strip the brass plate from plated items an leave a silvered undelying metal finish. I've found on solid brass it works a treat and without problem and fairly quickly if the solution is warm.
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 Rank: Master  Groups: Registered
Joined: 05/09/2012 Posts: 1,400 Points: 4,690 Location: Beaminster, Dorset
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Hi, If I may add to this post. I have successfully blackened Brass using this method, I used 'Blacken-it' which is available on EBay. The technique involves producing a coat of Copper Selenide (CuSe), which is a jet black and hard material. The solutions contain Selenous Acid (which as Chris says is very poisonous) and this reacts with the Copper in the Brass to produce the CuSe coating which should then be very well adhered to the surface. However the presence of any grease or oil on the surface will stop or hinder the process. In fact this technique is used to detect difficult fingerprints on Brass gun cartridges. It is essential to clean and degrease (as Chris says) very thoroughly, I use Iso-Propyl Alcohol (IPA available on EBay again, it is a very useful cleaning agent for many things) and an Ultrasonic bath and do not handle them with bare fingers after this. The solutions do also contain Copper Salts and this will eventually deposit its own CuSe layer, but this will not be as well adhered, as it is depositing out of solution and not chemically bonding with the surface, it will therefore also be more powdery and therefore more easily removed. This is why the solution will blacken other non cupric metals but not as successfully.
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Rank: Pro Groups: Joined: 24/08/2009 Posts: 48,051 Points: -13,308
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You'll find this link interesting, which lists a number of blackening products, the interesting one that you may not be aware of is the weapon bluing products which produce the same effect and on other metals.
http://www.shipmodelsoci...e/MetalBlackeningnew.pdf
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Rank: Pro Groups: Registered
Joined: 30/08/2012 Posts: 336 Points: 857 Location: London
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I've just ordered a 4fl oz bottle of blacken-it for my X-Section. However, I found it quite pricey at nearly a tenner. How far does it normally go? Would one bottle be enough to complete the X-Section?
EDIT: I notice you can these ultrasonic baths on ebay for around a tenner. How do they work exactly?
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Rank: Master Groups: Registered
Joined: 05/09/2012 Posts: 1,400 Points: 4,690 Location: Beaminster, Dorset
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Hi Rob, I'll give you the Bad news first  I'm on my 3rd Bottle on the X-Section, already  . The Good News is that I'm impatient and I use it Neat or almost Neat. If you dilute it it still works but takes longer. As an extremely rough guide Neat is about 5-10 minutes, 50:50 15-30 minutes and so on.
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Rank: Pro Groups: Registered
Joined: 30/08/2012 Posts: 336 Points: 857 Location: London
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Cheers Andy, was wondering about the US bath as well. Just seen a report about lambs dying due to this cold weather. Very sad  Are yours doing OK?
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Rank: Master Groups: Registered
Joined: 05/09/2012 Posts: 1,400 Points: 4,690 Location: Beaminster, Dorset
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Hi Rob, Don't try the US Bath it stops the coating adhering. I tried it   All our Lambs are inside so they are nice and cosy, thanks. We also seem to be a few degrees warmer than the rest of the country. But it would be nice to get them outside as it is a lot less work, then maybe I could do some modelling.
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Rank: Pro Groups: Registered
Joined: 30/08/2012 Posts: 336 Points: 857 Location: London
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Strange how this stuff interacts with different metals. When I put my brass gratings from the Vic in it, it took a long time to go black. However, when i plopped an anchor from the SOTS in it, it turned jet black instantly.
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Rank: Master Groups: Registered
Joined: 05/09/2012 Posts: 1,400 Points: 4,690 Location: Beaminster, Dorset
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RobT wrote:Strange how this stuff interacts with different metals. When I put my brass gratings from the Vic in it, it took a long time to go black. However, when i plopped an anchor from the SOTS in it, it turned jet black instantly. That's Alchemy M8
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US
