Metalsmith Tip #2--Oxidizing With Hardboiled Egg

My bi-weekly tips are very basic, very elementary. Today's is no exception. I first learned to oxidize with an ordinary boiled egg in a plastic bag and I still use this method for small pieces. I am always surprised to learn that some artisans who seem quite accomplished, do not know about or use this easy, chemical-free method to oxidize silver or copper and give it an antique look.

A Warm Hardboiled Egg Squished in a Plastic Ziplock Bag

All you need is a small pot with water, a chicken egg, a small plastic ziplock bag and a piece of metal.
1.  Boil the egg until it's hard boiled.
2.  Crack the egg and shell it while it is hot.
3.  Place it in the plastic bag and mash it up with your fingers.
4.  Place the metal piece in the ziplock bag and seal it.

Some pieces oxidize quickly and others take a little longer. When you're done, there is no harmful chemical waste to throw out--just a squished hardboiled egg!

Fine Silver Rings Oxidized in Hardboiled Egg

Lightly Oxidized Fine Silver Ring

The ring in the above picture was lightly oxidized for about 20 minutes--peridot and all. It is now ready for a polish pad to remove most of the oxidation.

The Final Finish on Textured Rings

Now the textured rings have a chemical free, antique look. Safer for you and safer for--yes--the environment! No messy cleanup. Just throw the bag and the leftover boiled egg in the trash. Good luck. This works great on copper also. How can you use this process?

How To Make Finishing Wax For Patinas

I plan to post a regular  piece about a "tip" I've learned for working with metal. This is the first in a series and today, I want to share directions for making finishing wax for any oxidized or patinated metal. I have always used Renaissance Wax which I purchase in small, expensive amounts from a woodworking shop. It isn't readily available in some parts of the USA. So today's tip will show you how to make finishing wax from materials that are easily available.

The first ingredient is beeswax. I found some two ounce cakes of it at our local hardware store.

Cut the beeswax into small chunks (or shred it) and fill a baby food jar with beeswax. This 2 oz. cake will probably fill the jar.

The second ingredient is Turpentine. Just regular old turpentine, again--from the hardware store.

Pour the turpentine over the beeswax to the top of the jar , put the lid on and set it aside.

After a few days, the wax and turpentine will emulsify and you will have a great finishing wax. The jar in this picture holds 4 ounces of beeswax because, obviously, I used what I had and it wasn't a baby food jar! Use a soft cloth to wax the copper bracelet and use another soft cloth to polish it. This recipe was given to us by two instructors at Metals Week so I am confident it will serve you well!