I do a lot of work in copper and I go back and forth between liking it most in its natural shiny state and adding a patina to it so it looks darker and aged. There are examples in the photo to the right of the copper both ways.A lot of artists use liver of sulphur to add patina, but I don't have a source close by and I really didn't want the odor and fumes in my house. I don't have a separate shop with a ventilation system so I looked into alternative methods. After much research and discussion on various forums I decided to give the egg method a try.
Hard boil and egg and while it is still warm, cut it in a couple of pieces and put it in an airtight container with your item. I have read people stating to not let the egg touch the item, but my egg and item always get jumbled together and I never found it to be a problem. In fact, when I was using the egg method on this bracelet
I squished the egg and mashed it into the bracelet. This bracelet has a very tight weave and just leaving it sitting with the egg wasn't working very well. I use a ziploc bag to do this so I can keep moving and turning the item to get good coverage.Having never used liver of sulphur, I can't be sure, but I believe that this method takes quite a bit longer. In fact, most of my pieces get left in the egg overnight.
All the copper in my Etsy shop, so far, has been left shiny. I do indicate in the descriptions that it will darken on its own over time, but maybe it would sell better if I added the patina. What do you think? Any opinions on copper bright verus darkened?
8 comments:
I don't know much about jewelery or jewelery making, but I can tell you that I just LOVE copper! I also prefer the patina to the bright copper. I had no idea you could get a patina with an egg! What an interesting blog :)
Thanks for offering your opinion about the patina. Maybe I'll take the copper things I have and add patina one by one and see if they sell any better.
I like the patina you get from the egg and what a wonderful safe way to do it too. I love copper shiny or with a patina. The aged look makes it look like a found treasure - beautiful!
I love copper with a patina. I only ever learned the liver of sulfer method. It's great that there's a more natural method using egg. Thanks for the info.!
I've been wondering about that egg technique for giving silver an oxidized finish. Thanks for sharing your technique - I think I'll try this with a pair of earrings!
Thanks for sharing the egg method!
I found your post quite interesting! Today I used liver of sulfer for the first time...it does put off an oder I'd rather not have in my house so I'm glad I used it outside. The copper took only a second to react...I may try this egg method to have more control next time! Thanks for the information!
I'm about to give your method a try .. I have eggs boiling right now. Does the egg method work on other metals as well as it does on the copper?
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