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Turning Copper Green Fast

About 8 years ago I commissioned a beautiful hammered pure copper bass relief wall sculpture of a blue heron in flight, made from annealed pure copper sheet. The piece is about six feet tall. To date the metal has turned to a brownish patina. As we live in Florida it is very humid most of the time. I thought that by now the copper should have turned green. I have been told that it may take 60 to 70 more years for this to happen. As I am turning 69 this year, I do not have that much time to wait. Are there any commonly available household products that will speed up the tarnishing process? ie: ammonium cleaners. I do not want to use paints, etc. that will cover the natural copper.
Thank you for any help you can give me.

Fabian Bandoni
retired / hobbyist - Naples, Florida
February 2, 2010

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Hi, Fabian. Send a picture if you get a chance. The fastest and easiest way to a green patina is with a green patina solution like Jax Patina [affil links]. This is not a paint, it is copper salts similar to a natural patina. If you want to use stuff of a more homemade nature, please search the site for "green copper". Good luck.

Regards,

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
February 3, 2010