Subject: Re: Rusting Metal [deliberately]

From: [email-masked] (Orest I Koroluk)
Date: Tue, 10 Dec 1996 14:14:57 -0400

In article <[email-masked]>, Bob Stout <[email-masked]> wrote:

> > > >
> > > > My wife and I like the old/lived-in type look. Used brick makes up our
> > > > fireplace and our outdoor walkway. In addition to enjoying the 'look',
> > > > it keeps us from wanting to do harm to the kids when they add some
> > > > additional unplanned character to a piece.  8^)
> > > >
> > > > We are planning to have a blacksmith create the body for a coffee
> > > > table and we'll add the maple wormwood top and middle shelf. Rather
> > > > than have 'new' looking metal, we'd like to 'play' with a rusted
> > > > finish. We have both seen metal objects sold in a deliberately rusted
> > > > form (usually art), and short of leaving them outside for a year,
> > > > would like to know how to achieve a 'quick' rusted appearance. We were
> > > > wondering if painting a weak acid solution on the metal would work?
> > > >
> 
> I once left a bottle of Ferric Chloride (Radio Shack $2.49), for etching
> circuit boards, open on a counter top one day...a day or so later, every
> thing metal on the counter within a 2 foot radius was rustier than a
> year outside.
> 
> Bob Stout

If you leave the metal bits in proximity to hydrochloric acid vapours they
will develop a coating of rust very quickly.

Orest

-- 
   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                           Orest I. Koroluk
                   Technical Officer~Agent technique
     Royal Military College of Canada~College militaire royal du Canada      
     Department of Mechanical Engineering~Departement de genie mecanique 
                   Kingston  Ontario  Canada  K7K 5L0
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    Voice-(613) 541-6000 ext 6281        / /<^> / / NATIONAL   DEFENSE
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From: [email-masked] (Douglas401)
Date: 12 Dec 1996 01:21:31 GMT

Simple hydrogen peroxide from the Rx will flash rust ferrous metal. It
helps to have a self-passivating steel as the base