TUTORIAL: heat coloring your mod

Made a thread but figured I would make it into a blog also. I wanted to modify my cool (but average) mixed nemesis clone, I had seen pictures of custom mods that had their colors changed by using heat.
I searched and searched and couldnt find anything really explaining how to do it or showing how to do it. I saw people talking about sticking it in the oven at 550 degrees but not really getting much color change. I figured i could use a propane torch to achieve some good color, so this morning I gave it a shot and took some pictures for anyone interested in doing it. I found it to be extremely easy! i was done within a couple of minutes, im sure I could have gone longer but I stopped when I liked the look of the color.




I'll start off with the end result, the pictures do not do the colors justice. it looks amazing in the dark and even better in the light! like I said this was only about 2 minutes of using the torch and my first time. I went for the blueish top and bottom with the purple in the middle, and I dont think I did too bad of a job! I was very surprised at how fast the colors changed. I was slightly worried about threads warping but it screws together like new.
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This is the "device" I used to hold my tube. Worked like a charm! I cut the bottom of a clothes hanger and then a few inches up the side, sliding the tube onto this little V held it very secure. I was able to hold the clothes hanger with my bare hands and it never heated up to the point where i couldnt hold onto the clothes hanger, it stayed surprisingly cool actually.
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I used this propane torch, I already had this but you can purchase them for 5 bucks at a hardware store.
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INSTRUCTIONS: ALWAYS DO THIS OUTSIDE FUMES DID COME OFF MY TUBE WHILE HEATING. Fill up a mason jar or glass cup with cold water and some ice and set it aside. Hold clothes hanger in one hand and torch in the other. When the torch is on the blue tips right near the nozzle are the hottest points, I held these blue tips basically right on the tube. Slowly spin the tube and try to keep the torch steady. As I mentioned the color change happens relatively fast so keep a close eye on the colors. Ill attach a color chart so you can see how the colors change. Once you are happy with the colors dip the tube right into the ice water, this cools it off instantly then you can see how it looks. The colors look better before you cool it off, So you may need to repeat the process to get the colors you want to achieve. This is a very easy process and makes for a cool looking mod IMO. I had fun doing this and im sure ill do more in the future and get better at it.


This shows how to color of steel changes with different amounts of heat, use this as a reference so you know what colors coming next or if you want to stop the heating.
Temperature-color-chart-large.jpg



WARNING: I shouldnt need to say this since it is an adult forum but BE CAREFUL! you are obviously working with very hot metals, take precautions! I am not responsible for damages to you or your equipment, do this at your own risk!
I'm sure their are different ways of doing this but this is how I did it and my results. If you have another method please post! If youve done this before post your mods I would love to see them! Again be safe and get creative!

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RichRod
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