As I've said before, patina experiments don't always turn out the way you want them to. When using vinegar, the acid will eat into the metal if left long enough -- and it doesn't etch evenly as an etching fluid would, but createds a pitted surface, which can be great (see e.g. this post). But sometimes it goes plain wrong.
In this case I sacrificed a plated stamping. I'd bought it ages ago, but never really liked it once I got it. Didn't like how she puts her chin out, which made it feel like she had the mumps or something. So I wasn't worried about putting it in the baker's ammonia and vinegar sawdust: a good patina would just improve it, a failed patina wouldn't damage a piece of any particular value to me. So in the jar it went. I waited. And waited. Even forgot it for some time. And very little happened. Often, the vinegar will eat through sealants and even plating, but not this time. In the end, I put it in another jar with just salt and vinegar to see if that would speed up any patina. Eventually, this is what I ended up with.
More rust than verdigris and the edges had corroded badly. That distressed, rustic surface might be a great loook on many stampings, but perhaps not one with a human face because that protruding chin had become more etched and pitted than any other area.
I had ended up with a one-eyed bearded lady!
Looks like a stamping from hell. With a knitted cap on her head. WHAT is she?
ReplyDeleteIn her defense, she looked a bit better before my "acid attack" on her. Not a lot better, but I hoped it'd be more flattering IRL than on a photo. *off googling* Ah, got a pic of what it looks unpatina'd: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Large-Art-Nouveau-Fairy-Stamping-Ox-Silver-Plate-1103so-/380463804332
DeleteThe stampings' some sort of fairy, but not really the delicate kind. It's a Gibson Girl head -- with that typical volumnious hair -- on top of two butterfly wings. No idea why the artisan thought it was a good idea to have her put the chin out like that.
If nothing else, maybe I could flatten the middle or cut it out and use only the wings. Save the craft fail that way.
The wings could look exciting in a special piece. Just get rid of the face. I like the rusty parts on the wings. Could be nice in a collage.
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