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Q&As since 1989


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How do I get more color in my metal art

What are some of your tips for coloring metal with a torch. I am experimenting with it and have achieved some results but am not always sure what was the real cause. I have come to believe that I need to hold the torch farther away from the metal instead of up close. How do you get the color to go where you are instead of "dragging" the color along? Any tips would be helpful.

Thanks,

Mary Jane Repp
- Ft. Cobb, Oklahoma
2003

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With the torch close, you are getting the reducing portion of the flame. Further away you are getting the oxidizing portion of the flame. Too far away and you do not get enough heat/temperature to oxidize the metal. The metal will discolor anywhere it is hot enough to oxidize. So try a smaller tip with more oxygen and se what happens.

James Watts
- Navarre, Florida
2003