Henley's Twentieth Century Formulas, Recipes and Processes. Various
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this is one of the handsomest as well as the most durable surfaces, and is easily applied.
II.—A very handsome brown may be produced on brass castings by immersing the thoroughly cleaned and dried articles in a warm solution of 15 parts of sodium hydrate and 5 parts of cupric carbonate in 100 parts of water. The metal turns dark yellow, light brown, and finally dark brown, with a greenish shimmer, and, when the desired shade is reached, is taken out of the bath, rinsed, and dried.
III.—Paint the cleaned and dried surface uniformly with a dilute solution of ammonium sulphide. When this coating is dry, it is rubbed over, and then painted with a dilute ammoniacal solution of arsenic sulphide, until the required depth of color is attained. If the results are not satisfactory the painting can be repeated after washing over with ammonia. Prolonged immersion in the second solution produces a grayish-green film, which looks well, and acquires luster when polished with a cloth.
Refinishing Gas Fixtures.
—Gas fixtures which have become dirty or tarnished from use may be improved in appearance by painting with bronze paint and then, if a still better finish is required, varnishing after the paint is thoroughly dry with some light-colored varnish that will give a hard and brilliant coating.
If the bronze paint is made up with ordinary varnish it is liable to become discolored from acid which may be present in the varnish. One method proposed for obviating this is to mix the varnish with about five times its volume of spirit of turpentine, add to the mixture dried slaked lime in the proportion of about 40 grains to the pint, agitate well, repeating the agitation several times, and finally allowing the suspended matter to settle and decanting the clear liquid. The object of this is to neutralize any acid which may be present. To determine how effectively this has been done the varnish may be chemically tested.
Steel Blue And Old Silver On Brass.
—For the former dissolve 100 parts of carbonic carbonate in 750 parts of ammonia and dilute this solution with distilled water, whereupon the cleaned articles are dipped into the liquid by means of a brass wire. After two to three minutes take them out, rinse in clean water, and dry in sawdust. Old silver on brass is produced as follows: The articles are first silvered and next painted with a thin paste consisting of graphite, 6 parts; pulverized hematite, 1 part; and turpentine. Use a soft brush and dry well; then brush off the powder. Oxidized silver is obtained by dipping the silvered goods into a heated solution of liver of sulphur, 5 parts; ammonia carbonate, 10 parts; and water, 10,000 parts. Only substantially silvered objects are suited for oxidation, as a weak silvering is taken off by this solution. Unsatisfactory coloring is removed with potassium-cyanide solution. It is advisable to lay the articles in hydrogen sulphide-ammonia solution diluted with water,wherein they acquire a blue to a deep-black shade.
Tombac Color On Brass.
—This is produced by immersion in a mixture of copper carbonate, 10 parts; caustic soda, 30 parts; water, 200 parts. This layer will only endure wiping with a cloth, not vigorous scouring with sand.
Graining Of Brass.
—Brass parts of timepieces are frequently provided with a dead grained surface. For this purpose they are fastened with flat-headed pins on cork disks and brushed with a paste of water and finest powdered pumice stone. Next they are thoroughly washed and placed in a solution of 10 quarts of water, 30 grains of mercuric nitrate, and 60 grains of sulphuric acid. In this amalgamating solution the objects become at once covered with a layer of mercury, which forms an amalgam with the copper, while the zinc passes into solution. After the articles have again been washed they are treated with graining powder, which consists of silver powder, tartar, and cooking salt. These substances must be pure, dry, and very finely pulverized. The mixing is done with moderate heat. According {131} to whether a coarser or finer grain is desired, more cooking salt or more tartar must be contained in the powder. The ordinary proportions are:
| Silver powder | 28 | 28 | 28 parts |
| Tartar | 283 | 110–140 | 85 parts |
| Cooking salt | 900 | 370 | 900 parts |
This powder is moistened with water and applied to the object. Place the article with the cork support in a flat dish and rub on the paste with a stiff brush while turning the dish incessantly. Gradually fresh portions of graining powder are put on until the desired grain is obtained. These turn out the rounder the more the dish and brush are turned. When the right grain is attained, rinse off with water, and treat the object with a scratch brush, with employment of a decoction of saponaria. The brushes must be moved around in a circle in brushing with the pumice stone, as well as in rubbing on the graining powder and in using the scratch brush. The required silver powder is produced by precipitating a diluted solution of silver nitrate with some strips of sheet copper. The precipitated silver powder is washed out on a paper filter and dried at moderate heat.
The Dead, Or Matt, Dip For Brass.
—The dead dip is used to impart a satiny or crystalline finish to the surface. The bright dip gives a smooth, shiny, and perfectly even surface, but the dead dip is the most pleasing of any dip finish, and can be used as a base for many secondary finishes.
The dead dip is a mixture of oil of vitriol (sulphuric acid) and aqua fortis (nitric acid) in which there is enough sulphate of zinc (white vitriol) to saturate the solution. It is in the presence of the sulphate of zinc that the essential difference between the bright and the dead dip exists. Without it the dead or matt surface cannot be obtained.
The method generally practiced is to add the sulphate of zinc to the mixed acids (sulphuric and nitric), so that some remains undissolved in the bottom of the vessel. It is found that the sulphate of zinc occurs in small crystals having the appearance of very coarse granulated sugar. These crystals readily settle to the bottom of the vessel and do not do the work of matting properly. If they are finely pulverized the dip is slightly improved, but it is impossible to pulverize such material to a fineness that will do the desired work. The use of sulphate of zinc, then, leaves much to be desired.
The most modern method of making up the dead dip is to produce the sulphate of zinc directly in the solution and in the precipitated form. It is well known that the most finely divided materials are those which are produced by precipitation, and in the dead dip it is very important that the sulphate of zinc shall be finely divided so that it will not immediately settle to the bottom. Therefore it should be precipitated so that when it is mixed with the acids it will not settle immediately. The method of making the sulphate of zinc directly in the solution is as follows:
Take 1 gallon of yellow aqua fortis (38° F.) and place in a stone crock which is surrounded with cold water. The cold water is to keep the heat, formed by the reaction, from evaporating the acid. Add metallic zinc in small pieces until the acid will dissolve no more. The zinc may be in any convenient form—sheet clippings, lumps, granulated, etc., that may be added little by little. If all is added at once it will boil over. When the acid will dissolve no more zinc it will be found that some of the acid has evaporated by the heat, and it will be necessary to add enough fresh acid to make up to the original gallon. When this is done add 1 gallon of strong oil of vitriol. The mixture should be stirred with a wooden paddle while the oil of vitriol is being added.
As the sulphuric acid is being added the solution begins to grow milky, and finally the whole has the consistency of thick cream. This is caused by the sulphuric acid (oil of vitriol) precipitating out the sulphate of zinc. Thus the very finely divided precipitate of sulphate of zinc is formed. If one desires to use known quantities of acid and zinc the following amounts may be taken: Oil of vitriol, 1 gallon; aqua fortis (38°