Posted by Gary Dodge on February 22, 2002 at 19:18:32:
In Reply to: Patina removal posted by Susan on February 21, 2002 at 11:49:16:
: Hi Gary.
Hi Susan,
This is something that I don't often have to deal with so there may be better ways, but I don't know them.
I have found that most copper patinas will pretty much disappear as you work if you flux the work well, solder through it and add some flux again while it is still pretty hot.
Some patinas will float around in chips on the molten metal, (so test a small spot first) and those need to be moved by abraision, like your steel wool, although brass wool is better because if you don't get it all off and some gets stuck in your solder, the steel wool may later cause rust spots in your work.
IMPORTANT!!! If you do use abraision to remove the patina you will be creating a lot of highly toxic lead dust. Only do this if you keep the work wet or even under water and WEAR RUBBER GLOVES.
: My question concerns patina. I am re-doing a project from a year ago (I now have better stained glass technique), but need to remove black patina in order to resolder certain joints. Is there an easy way to remove patina or is steel wool the only option?
: Thanks,
: Susan