Thread: Camphor sea chest

If they're real brass and not just plated steel you can age them several ways; sanding off the shine and soaking them in vinegar, heating them up with a blowtorch until they oxidise or simply throwing them out on the lawn for six months or so!

Just be aware though that artificially aged fittings stand out like dogs pods unless you also distress them a bit and knock off any crisp edges that show.

thanks chief, and if they are just plated ?
how do I tell the difference?

Originally Posted by Tonyz

thanks chief, and if they are just plated ?
how do I tell the difference?

If they’re plated steel they’ll be magnetic; wave a magnet at them.

If they’re steel all is not lost; you can still make them look period-ish. Hit them with a blowtorch to get them good and hot (glowing dull red if you can) then quench them in cold water and leave them out overnight to attract the rust fairy. Then you have a couple of choices; brush them with any phosphoric acid-based rust remover/converter and paint them with black enamel. Or; just brush them with Feronite which is a different type of rust converter (NFI what is in it but it turns rust a purply-black). Metal fittings were usually painted black to protect them but I have seen some really old iron fittings that were “protected” by a heavy coating of scale and it wouldn’t have been too hard to rust-blue them and keep them oiled or varnished. You want them to have a flash of rust on them as it gives texture to the metal surface.

appreciate this, cheers