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Make steel black without painting

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I am a home hobbiest experimenting in welding metal lamp bases. I made a floor lamp and the part that holds the lamp slides up and down depending on the how it will be used and is held in place by squeezing a central post. The problem is paint scratches. I want to make another one. Is there a way to turn steel (the kind you buy at hardware stores) black without painting? Like some kind of chemical patina. If so, where do you get it?

Jenny Ogborn
- Cleveland, Ohio

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have you looked at black chrome? this may solve your problems. william

WILLIAM SKLAVENITIS
- canton ohio usa

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You could apply a 5 % tannic acid solution on a bare steel surface to get a black coloration. The ferric tannate formation being more or less adherent you could apply an acrylic coating (ex : Krylon Crystal Clear) to obtain the final and satisfying aspect.

Jerome R. Morissette
- Quebec City, Quebec, Canada

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