Where the
world gathers for metal finishing
Q&As since 1989


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Restoring Red-Brown Finish On Solid Copper Sink

Repairing 250 copper sinks, I have not yet been able to get a warm-enough red-brown patina. liver of sulfur [on eBay or Amazon] or ferric nitrate produce yellow-brown patinas and work well in many applications, but I cannot get a formula for red-brown. There are no red-brown proprietary solutions on the market either. Can anyone help? Thank you.

John Welch
Mfgr.& Repair Copper& Brass Items - Langley, Washington, USA
2007

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Try internet archive website-there you can find old but good download free book on metal colouring by Arthur Hiorns (many formulas for colouring copper and its alloys). Hope it helps and good luck!

Goran Budija
- Cerovski vrh Croatia
2007

I purchased a hammered copper sink for our new house and something got on it causing three dime size spots as shiny as a new penny. What can I put on these spots to tarnish to a light chocolate color and what can I use to seal the sink against further spotting?

Dennis Fischer
homeowner - Tucson, Arizona, US
January 31, 2008

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January 17, 2009

Hi,
We thought we got a deal a while back: Good quality red wine in a cardboard cask. Because the tap leaked slightly, we put it over the lip of our antiqued copper sink. In a few days, we noticed that the antiquing was removed where the wine dripped on it, leaving a fresh copper surface. My question is: What happened and how do we get the antiqued look back ?
Thanks in advance, Ashland Oregon

Richard Stanley
Home owner / craftsman - Ashland Oregon , USA