Metal finishing Q&As since 1989

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Copper Patina? (conversion of color and removal of color leaching from brick)

Copper Patina Questions ( conversion of color and removal from brick):

I am in the dry environment of Boise Idaho and dealing with a Beautiful flat roofed multilevel home with significant amounts of exposed 12 year old copper coping, flashing, caps, rails, and light fixtures that have turned brown. Also, where the joints appear in the copper on the roof above the sandstone colored brick, the brick has a green leach on it about 4 inches wide and up to 2 feet long.

My questions are: (1) How can I turn the copper green, and doing it without damaging the brick or redwood window casings, etc.? (2) How can I avoid further discoloration of the brick and remove the green that is present?

Dr. David A Blackmer
ASC Development - Boise, Idaho

i am a contractor and have a customer who wants all of the copper gutter system recently installed to be turned patina since the gutters are allready on the house how could this be done without damaging the other finishes on the house

tom burnham
- atlanta Georgia usa
 

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Dear finishingdotcom:

I recently had copper gutters installed on my house. In the installation process the gutters were imprinted with the installers fingerprints and sundry other "smuges." I asked the installer if he intended to clean the gutters and he replied that no one had ever asked him to do that before. When asked why, I explained that I wanted the patina process to be uniform. He then cleaned the gutters. In the meantime it rained and the patina process began with a lot of areas showing drips, etc. I would like my gutters to patina at a uniform rate. I also would like them to show a nice green patina. Query: Can I clean the gutters with a good copper cleaner and then "mist" them with sea water? Is there any other natural substance (other than a chemical) that willaccelerate the patina process? A friend suggested that spraying the freshly cleaned copper with urine would also accelerate the process. I live near the coast(like a quarter mile away), and the marine layer is prevalent.! What is your suggestion?

Thank you,

Jim Rummonds
- Aptos, California