Posted by Gary Dodge on November 18, 2002 at 22:38:00:
In Reply to: too much patina? posted by Christine Giantsos on November 18, 2002 at 21:13:58:
Hi Christine,
There are a great many questions that need to be asked about the patina technique, but it sounds like the biggest problem you have may be what are called "flux and patina stains" on the glass.
Not all glass is subject to staining under the same conditions, but in general, these stains are most likely to occur when a strong flux has been left on the glass for too long and then the piece is subsequently patinaed. If the patina is left on for a long time as well, this will likely make things worse, although in truth I've never seen anybody leave patina on a piece for more than five or ten minutes before cleaning it off.
The only sure solution I know of for patina stains is a product from Novacan called "The Stain Remover That Really Works". Brush it around on the glass for about 5 minutes and then wipe up the excess.
As for the metal, it is unusual to find things that the Kem-o-pro won't polish out, but if that is the case, try moving up to a stronger polish. Two to try are Noxon amd Brasso. One is stronger than the other, but I don't remember which is which. If you over-polish with the strong one you may wind up stripping the patina all together, so go lightly at first.
Gary Dodge
: Hi, everyone, I'm new at this game and love it so far. I've only made 4 pieces and I've just finished my first big project. The design is very pretty and I did a good job, but, I think I used too much patina or something. The whole thing looks very dull and the glass isn't shinny clean. I guess the best way to decribe it is ..antique looking. This is what I did.[was told by teacher] After solder I scrubbed with Neutra 5000 and hot water. Then rinsed clean. Then I used black patina all over including the zinc came. then I washed with Neutra 5000 and hot water. then I was told to put more patina just on the zinc and leave it for 24 hours. After 24 hrs I scrubbed it again with Neutra 5000 but it stayed very dull all over. So then I polished it with Kem o Pro but not much difference. So I've been buffing and buffing but it's not looking like a stained glass finish should. The glass doesn't look clean. The teacher suggested I take a Qtip and ammonia to clean up the glass but it only improved a little. HELP !!! Thanks.... love reading the Questions and solutions you guys post. I'm learning a little more each day.