: Do any of you chemists know how to take nice shiny new brass and bronze and
: tarnish it quickly so that it has that old nautical look? Every reference
: I can find tells me how to remove tarnish, not create it. Thanks in
: advance.

I'm not a chemist but I am sculptor.

You can use cupric nitrate (green), cobalt nitrate (brown) and potash sulfurated (black)
chemicals if you can locate a source. I'd look at a sculpture supply house, you chemists
might suggest someplace like Edmund Scientific.

But you may be able to do it with salt water (green) or fresh water (brown). The minerals
and impurities of your water source will create different effects.

The process is simple.

Place your hardware on an insulated surface like a brick. Heat the hardware with
a propane torch to the point where water applied with a brush, sizzles and evaporates
quickly. If you want a green color mix up some salt water and have a cup of fresh water
also on hand. Alternate brushing on fresh and salt or one of the chemical solutions to
create the patina of age. The application of fresh water removes the build up of chemical
crusts that will spoil an even coloration. For brown use only fresh water.

The longer you apply this technique the darker the color.

You can fix the color by applying some bee's wax to the hardware before it cools.
Or you can leave the colored hardware " as is" and the water contact during your paddling trips
will continue to work on the patina.

All the best,
Rob