It wasn't lost. I 'liked' the post!
I should have said 'lol' too.
I added theand
lol. Gotcha.
Sometimes picking up on the tone of the written word isn't my specialty. lolHave a good one, bud.
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lol. Gotcha.
Sometimes picking up on the tone of the written word isn't my specialty. lolHave a good one, bud.
using a propane torch is not needed. use a portable butane unit. look on articles and youtube videos about heat coloring steel. It is done a lot by those of us who do this for chainmail links.
fyi for beginners: always use protection from burning yourself. always have fire extinguisher near by. do outside and where a protective mask over mouth and nose cuz some stainless steels release toxic fumes when heated.
electro plating though nice is not recommended because some stainless contain nickel, zinc and other materials that can interfere with the plating process but also can cause other problems as well.
fyi for beginners: always use protection from burning yourself. always have fire extinguisher near by. do outside and where a protective mask over mouth and nose cuz some stainless steels release toxic fumes when heated.
electro plating though nice is not recommended because some stainless contain nickel, zinc and other materials that can interfere with the plating process but also can cause other problems as well.
Here are the results of baking for 3 hours total at 550 fahrenheit:
It's pretty subtle still. It only stands out realative to the switch and top cap which were not baked.
The IGO-L went in the oven for 30 minutes longer (3hr 30min total) than the GUS since I was testing the procedure on it, thus it is a bit more "golden" than the GUS.
Here's a quick rundown of what I did:
1. Clean all parts with ISO 99% alcohol.
2. Place parts standing up on clean Pyrex pan and put in oven.
3. After 3 hours, turn oven off, open door and let parts sit and cool.
That's it. I may bake them another two hours to get a more visible patina but they look nice like this too.
My oven would not go higher than 550 fahrenheit, otherwise I would have experimented with higher temps.
Best advice I can give someone who wants to try this is to test it first with a cheap piece of stainless. I used the cap of my IGO-L for this reason.
Cheers!
It's pretty subtle still. It only stands out realative to the switch and top cap which were not baked.
The IGO-L went in the oven for 30 minutes longer (3hr 30min total) than the GUS since I was testing the procedure on it, thus it is a bit more "golden" than the GUS.
Here's a quick rundown of what I did:
1. Clean all parts with ISO 99% alcohol.
2. Place parts standing up on clean Pyrex pan and put in oven.
3. After 3 hours, turn oven off, open door and let parts sit and cool.
That's it. I may bake them another two hours to get a more visible patina but they look nice like this too.
My oven would not go higher than 550 fahrenheit, otherwise I would have experimented with higher temps.
Best advice I can give someone who wants to try this is to test it first with a cheap piece of stainless. I used the cap of my IGO-L for this reason.
Cheers!
Last edited:
+1 torch.
-1 scaredy plating. (Do use gloves and vents, do research, know plating composition....)
I haven't tried this but I'd be tempted.....
Plug N' Plate® Brush Plating Kits - Caswell Inc
or some such kit. No warranties express or implied by me........
They have SS activator for gold... for other stuff, they plate copper on 1st.
o'course...."it ain't free" as they say.
Last edited:
Yes, I have used something just like it on a stainless steel shield. It was to put a gold finish on the edge. It came out decent enough on one shield but in certain light, it looked painted on. I also tried this on another shield I made for a friend with 401 stainless steel and it looked like garbage - it was spotty and I ended up having remove it (took about 1 hour to remove and another 1 hour to repolish the edge). 401 stainless does not have nickel or zinc in it.
needed to heat treat stainless steel:
1 butane torch
1 tong or something to move the stainless steel
1 clamp or device to hold the stainless steel item being heat color treated
1 pr gloves
1 eye protection (just for safe side)
1 metal or high heat item with ice (enough ice to cover the stainless steel)
about 15 to 30 minutes
1 dremel or other rotary tool
1 medium coarse metal polishing wheel
1 metal polishing wheel (lighter than the other)
(optional is to use a belt driven polishing sander (as used in most blade shops to polish the sword, knife or metal item)
Please be careful and do any heat coloring at your own risk. The cost to do is dependent on what you need to purchase. You do not have to use the polishing final touches but will help bring out the color, smooth the coloring a slight amount and help make the colored unit look very professional. If you have polishing wheels or other tools to polish metal (no cream types) then only cost is the butane for the torch.
Other methods of heat coloring stainless steel are out and typically do not require anything but the material you are using to make the heat (butane, propane, etc..). While the oven is a good method, some stainless steels do have nickel, zinc and other minerals that when heated up will become a toxic gas. If wishing to do the oven method - use a covered item to hold the unit (a covered roasting pan with something to hold the metal in the middle of the pan. By using a cover and using the oven on roast (not 500 or 550 whatever is max on your oven) will help get better results. Roasting is the max temp in the oven and also it uses heat elements (or flame) that surround the entire oven - not just the bottom (conventional or typical home oven). By putting a good lid on it, will hold in any toxic gasses created (for the most part), increase pressure that also increases heat so therefore you are getting a hotter temp for the metal. Using this oven method will still require you to use ice to cool down the metal or you can allow it to air cool (just takes longer and must wait to see if needing to put the metal item back in the oven).
Regardless of method: this method following or the oven method listed above or a plating method listed in previous comment or any other method: FOLLOW SAFETY AT ALL TIMES, This is not really ideal for beginners, HAVE SAFETY CLOTHING ON, DO NOT ALLOW PETS OR CHILDREN NEARBY (they can get burned or worse inhale toxic gasses), HAVE SAFETY EQUIPMENT NEARBY - even for the plating listed in above comment - have safety equipment nearby (some water to wash or a eye dropper with saline solution in case of getting something into the eyes. Find youtube videos and practice first with something that you do not mind throwing away if messed up. Using the below method, it took me about 25 attempts to finally get a nice color finish on metal links and also on metal shields.
Procedure I use to heat color stainless steel and other steels:
make sure the item is prepared (no plastic, wiring removed and nothing that could get damaged).
use the clamp or whatever is holding the unit in place and ensure the unit is secured - would hate for this to be done and wind or something knock it over onto dry leaves and cause a fire
start up the butane torch as indicated by the torch unit instructions
move the torch towards the stainless steel item until it the blue part of the flame is barely touching the stainless steel
move the torch up and down the unit slowly keeping the blue flame just barely touching the metal (do not allow the stainless steel to begin glowing red)
note: the longer the flame is on the steel, the darker the color will become.
After 15 minutes, use the tongs to hold the stainless steel item and remove from clamp.
Put the unit directly into Ice - do not use ice water...the hot metal will melt the ice into water - no need to add more water.
When the metal is no longer hissing and no steam is coming up, use fingers to ensure it is cooled down (do not touch the unit, you can feel heat from the metal if it is still hot).
If still hot and ice is melted, get more ice and do ice cool again.
If no longer hot, you should start to see some coloring.
If it is the color but barely noticed then put it back in the flame and do over (same part of flame or a little lighter part of flame) and do this in 5 minute increments - cooling down each time to check the coloring. Do not worry if the color is slightly too dark because you will finish by doing polish.
If it is not the color but very close, then get the metal back on the holder/clamp and do some more. Move the flame a little slower or move the flame closer to the metal
to get more heat. Do this for 5 minute increments. Once you are at the color but barely noticed (light shade of the color) then do the above step.
If it is not near the color and as long as it is not a darker color - then use a hotter part of the flame and also slower movement. Do this as in the above; 5 minute
increments. Keep doing until one of the above becomes true.
If the color is too dark, you can grind down the metal until the coloring is gone but this may make things more of a problem. I always change my plans and just go with
the darker coloring. Make a note of where you had the metal with the flame and how long and use a cooler (not as dark section) part of the flame, speed up the
movement of the torch over the metal and do not use the flame on as long on future projects. This is why it takes a little practice before attempting this method on your
pv unit.
Using a dremel or other rotary tool with a metal polish wheel attachment to polish the metal. DO NOT USE POLISH CREAMS. The polishing will lighten the color a little bit, smooth it out a little and sortof seal it in. Please note: heat coloring stainless steel colors the surface of the metal, it does not plate the metal nor does it color the entire metal. This color is nearly set-in and can not be undone without grinding or removing the surface metal. After going over the entire metal one time, use a lighter polishing wheel and do again. It will not lighten the coloring much if any but will finish the smoothing and giving a shine in the colored metal. This is the same method as doing a polished stainless steel. The more you do this and lighter of polishing wheel used will give a fingerprint magnet polished shine (almost like chrome). Please refer to books, videos and other resources before doing a polishing. I have only begun to do polishing of metal so only can list here of what I have been shown. I have always left my heat colored stainless steel just the way it was after the heat coloring - no polishing after.
vape to Live, Live to vape - Vape On
needed to heat treat stainless steel:
1 butane torch
1 tong or something to move the stainless steel
1 clamp or device to hold the stainless steel item being heat color treated
1 pr gloves
1 eye protection (just for safe side)
1 metal or high heat item with ice (enough ice to cover the stainless steel)
about 15 to 30 minutes
1 dremel or other rotary tool
1 medium coarse metal polishing wheel
1 metal polishing wheel (lighter than the other)
(optional is to use a belt driven polishing sander (as used in most blade shops to polish the sword, knife or metal item)
Please be careful and do any heat coloring at your own risk. The cost to do is dependent on what you need to purchase. You do not have to use the polishing final touches but will help bring out the color, smooth the coloring a slight amount and help make the colored unit look very professional. If you have polishing wheels or other tools to polish metal (no cream types) then only cost is the butane for the torch.
Other methods of heat coloring stainless steel are out and typically do not require anything but the material you are using to make the heat (butane, propane, etc..). While the oven is a good method, some stainless steels do have nickel, zinc and other minerals that when heated up will become a toxic gas. If wishing to do the oven method - use a covered item to hold the unit (a covered roasting pan with something to hold the metal in the middle of the pan. By using a cover and using the oven on roast (not 500 or 550 whatever is max on your oven) will help get better results. Roasting is the max temp in the oven and also it uses heat elements (or flame) that surround the entire oven - not just the bottom (conventional or typical home oven). By putting a good lid on it, will hold in any toxic gasses created (for the most part), increase pressure that also increases heat so therefore you are getting a hotter temp for the metal. Using this oven method will still require you to use ice to cool down the metal or you can allow it to air cool (just takes longer and must wait to see if needing to put the metal item back in the oven).
Regardless of method: this method following or the oven method listed above or a plating method listed in previous comment or any other method: FOLLOW SAFETY AT ALL TIMES, This is not really ideal for beginners, HAVE SAFETY CLOTHING ON, DO NOT ALLOW PETS OR CHILDREN NEARBY (they can get burned or worse inhale toxic gasses), HAVE SAFETY EQUIPMENT NEARBY - even for the plating listed in above comment - have safety equipment nearby (some water to wash or a eye dropper with saline solution in case of getting something into the eyes. Find youtube videos and practice first with something that you do not mind throwing away if messed up. Using the below method, it took me about 25 attempts to finally get a nice color finish on metal links and also on metal shields.
Procedure I use to heat color stainless steel and other steels:
make sure the item is prepared (no plastic, wiring removed and nothing that could get damaged).
use the clamp or whatever is holding the unit in place and ensure the unit is secured - would hate for this to be done and wind or something knock it over onto dry leaves and cause a fire
start up the butane torch as indicated by the torch unit instructions
move the torch towards the stainless steel item until it the blue part of the flame is barely touching the stainless steel
move the torch up and down the unit slowly keeping the blue flame just barely touching the metal (do not allow the stainless steel to begin glowing red)
note: the longer the flame is on the steel, the darker the color will become.
After 15 minutes, use the tongs to hold the stainless steel item and remove from clamp.
Put the unit directly into Ice - do not use ice water...the hot metal will melt the ice into water - no need to add more water.
When the metal is no longer hissing and no steam is coming up, use fingers to ensure it is cooled down (do not touch the unit, you can feel heat from the metal if it is still hot).
If still hot and ice is melted, get more ice and do ice cool again.
If no longer hot, you should start to see some coloring.
If it is the color but barely noticed then put it back in the flame and do over (same part of flame or a little lighter part of flame) and do this in 5 minute increments - cooling down each time to check the coloring. Do not worry if the color is slightly too dark because you will finish by doing polish.
If it is not the color but very close, then get the metal back on the holder/clamp and do some more. Move the flame a little slower or move the flame closer to the metal
to get more heat. Do this for 5 minute increments. Once you are at the color but barely noticed (light shade of the color) then do the above step.
If it is not near the color and as long as it is not a darker color - then use a hotter part of the flame and also slower movement. Do this as in the above; 5 minute
increments. Keep doing until one of the above becomes true.
If the color is too dark, you can grind down the metal until the coloring is gone but this may make things more of a problem. I always change my plans and just go with
the darker coloring. Make a note of where you had the metal with the flame and how long and use a cooler (not as dark section) part of the flame, speed up the
movement of the torch over the metal and do not use the flame on as long on future projects. This is why it takes a little practice before attempting this method on your
pv unit.
Using a dremel or other rotary tool with a metal polish wheel attachment to polish the metal. DO NOT USE POLISH CREAMS. The polishing will lighten the color a little bit, smooth it out a little and sortof seal it in. Please note: heat coloring stainless steel colors the surface of the metal, it does not plate the metal nor does it color the entire metal. This color is nearly set-in and can not be undone without grinding or removing the surface metal. After going over the entire metal one time, use a lighter polishing wheel and do again. It will not lighten the coloring much if any but will finish the smoothing and giving a shine in the colored metal. This is the same method as doing a polished stainless steel. The more you do this and lighter of polishing wheel used will give a fingerprint magnet polished shine (almost like chrome). Please refer to books, videos and other resources before doing a polishing. I have only begun to do polishing of metal so only can list here of what I have been shown. I have always left my heat colored stainless steel just the way it was after the heat coloring - no polishing after.
vape to Live, Live to vape - Vape On
Just wanted to update everyone that the oven baking method has one major drawback. The patina wears off after a few days of handling. I noticed that the IGO-L was keeping a nice golden color but the GUS was reverting back to its regular stainless look. Baked it again and after a few days it was almost gone again. The only parts of the GUS that retained the golden patina are the grooves and the parts of the tube that don't get touched by my hands. Since I rarely touch the IGO, it has retained the golden patina very nicely.
My guess is that I maybe need to use higher heat. Or maybe the composition of the metal in the GUS is not right?
My guess is that I maybe need to use higher heat. Or maybe the composition of the metal in the GUS is not right?
Calicam:9447554 said:Here are the results of baking for 3 hours total at 550 fahrenheit:
It's pretty subtle still. It only stands out realative to the switch and top cap which were not baked.
The IGO-L went in the oven for 30 minutes longer (3hr 30min total) than the GUS since I was testing the procedure on it, thus it is a bit more "golden" than the GUS.
Here's a quick rundown of what I did:
1. Clean all parts with ISO 99% alcohol.
2. Place parts standing up on clean Pyrex pan and put in oven.
3. After 3 hours, turn oven off, open door and let parts sit and cool.
That's it. I may bake them another two hours to get a more visible patina but they look nice like this too.
My oven would not go higher than 550 fahrenheit, otherwise I would have experimented with higher temps.
Best advice I can give someone who wants to try this is to test it first with a cheap piece of stainless. I used the cap of my IGO-L for this reason.
Cheers!
Looks nice !
I did my NZonic with a Culinary torch... but I wanted to go way past "Brass colored"... my oven won't do that.
I have the silver k100 and the brass sentinel clone from fasttech, Along with the trident and phoenix v5. Which parts can I torch to change the colors?
k100, seems like I can do the whole thing, except maybe the button piece, and telescopic part? (looks like It has parts inside that shouldn't be heated im guessing?)
sentinel brass - I'm not even sure you can do this with brass, maybe it'll soften it too much?
Going for the purple and blue gradient look also
Thanks!
k100, seems like I can do the whole thing, except maybe the button piece, and telescopic part? (looks like It has parts inside that shouldn't be heated im guessing?)
sentinel brass - I'm not even sure you can do this with brass, maybe it'll soften it too much?
Going for the purple and blue gradient look also
Thanks!
Last edited:
Well, not to get a brass like color but, if a thin blue-gray would satisfy you, you can use gun bluing to get that and, no heat required, just rub it on, let it dry a minute then, buff to polish it up.
This is blued stainless steel.
This is blued stainless steel.
oh wow! never heard of that, what do I look for and what store do they sell that at?
Thanks
Thanks
I started small with just the top cap of the IGO-L. I've seen folks do the whole unit, but I'm too scared it'll fry the internals.
Most ANY store that sells gun cleaning supplies will sell the cheap gun bluing kits , WalMart , K-Mart , of course Bass Pro and the likes and even small hunting fishing stores should also . I never tried bluing stainless , so i couldnt tell of the results with the bluing liquids . Remember why stainless has its name too , it resists rusting , and most bluing kits rely on etching and causing a type of rust on metal to darken it . Heat is about the only GOOD way to change the color of stainless .
Hope that helps .
Donnie
Knoxville,TN USA
Hope that helps .
Donnie
Knoxville,TN USA
Anywhere that sells gun cleaning supplies will have bluing for gun barrels. Online you can get it at a few places but, MidwayUSA.com has about the best price online.
Here is the bottle you are looking for. (Mat be a different brand but, all of them have very similar bottles and, work the same.)
I wouldn't put my Provari in the oven but, it did get blued - accidentally, spilled bluing on it while redoing a rifle barrel so, just went ahead and did the whole thing - the stuff won't wash of once it hits steel - have to polish it off with fine steel wool to get it off.
My question on the gun bluing method is....
Is it safe to use it on Atty's that your juice will come in contact with or on drip tips that will be in contact with a persons mouth?
Is it safe to use it on Atty's that your juice will come in contact with or on drip tips that will be in contact with a persons mouth?
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