Ferric Oxide Patina for Stainless?

Hi All,

I am a sculptor/fabricator based out of New York. I am building a stainless steel outdoor bird cage and the client wants a brownish patina applied to the metal. I came across mention of a sculptor using a ferric oxide patina applied with heat to achieve brown tones on stainless. Has anyone heard of this method? Other questions that come to mind are whether it would be stable or would I need to further seal the metal and if the stainless would need to be treated before hand (i.e., chemical wash?) If anyone has any thoughts or input it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Easy way to obtain brown patina on SS:oil your object with linseed oil(you must use very,very small amount of oil-instead linseed oil you can use any other edible oil or fat,french polish for furniture is very good too) ,then heat it slow to 300 -400 C(you can use hot air gun).Try it on some SS scrap.Hope it helps and good luck!