Antiquing Brass Buckles on monkstraps: AKA the official gone to far thread

[sartort]

I recently got a pair of RL Sheldon monks (Crockett and Jones Saville) and am quite pleased with them. The only quibble I have is with the buckle. It is a rather shiny brass and wanted to know if anyone has any experience with antiquing or adding a patina or just plain dulling it down.

 

[johnny_flapjack]

Have your blacksmith knock out a pair of bespoke buckles for them.

You do have a blacksmith....

don't you?

 

[sartort]

who doesn't?

 

[j]

http://www.whitechapel-ltd.com/tech/antique_brass.shtml

 

[acidboy]

Not that you may have one handy at home, but exposing metals to industrial grade sulfuric acid fumes will do the trick.

 

[Holdfast]

Originally Posted by johnny_flapjack

Have your blacksmith knock out a pair of bespoke buckles for them.

You do have a blacksmith....

don't you?

Sometimes, I love this board.

 

[thinman]

Originally Posted by Holdfast

Sometimes, I love this board.

Originally Posted by acidicboy

Not that you may have one handy at home, but exposing metals to industrial grade sulfuric acid fumes will do the trick.
Me too.

I'm a chemist, but I honestly don't know off-hand, what I'd use to do this. You could probably use some fairly weak acid to remove the finish, but everything I can think of is either too strong (e.g. sulfuric), or too weak (e.g. vinegar). Another option is an oxidizing agent (e.g. hydrogen peroxide), but you'd probably need to remove the finish first. What I would do if the shoes were mine, is either try some fine-grade sandpaper or just let the buckles weather naturally. The problem with chemicals is keeping them off the leather. Most of the chemicals I described above will do a nasty number on the leather and/or on its finish. I wouldn't have them near my shoes.

 

[digit]

liver of sulphur - you can buy it at any major art supply store.
you can probably apply it with a q-tip but id remove the buckle if at all possible.
http://www.how-to-make-jewelry.com/l...f-sulphur.html