gun aging

[BOB HILL]

Mike, you sure have accomplished that.   Everyone needs to remember the bottom line here IS pleasing yourself or YOUR customer.
Bob

[alacran]

 Most guns don't go in the field anymore.
[/quote]
All my guns go in the field. You want a a quick patina? Hunt a week in in the Midwest rain forest.  Go through a couple of toad stranglers, slip and fall a few times, get caught a few times in wait a minute vines. You will have a quick patina.

[Mike Brooks]

Most guns don't go in the field anymore.

All my guns go in the field. You want a a quick patina? Hunt a week in in the Midwest rain forest.  Go through a couple of toad stranglers, slip and fall a few times, get caught a few times in wait a minute vines. You will have a quick patina.
[/quote]
 Very few will do that. Most people won't go out in the rain. I don't anymore. Besides, getting your gun wet for a week isn't what it takes to simulate age. You'll end up with a gun that looks like it's been wet......

[hawkeye]

I can't agree more Mike

[Bob McBride]

It seems to me if I contracted 1000 artists to each build replicas of the Great Pyramids I would get 333 copies of the pyramids as we know them today, 333 copies of the pyramids clad in granite as they were during their Grand Opening, 333 somewhere in between, and 1 weird Picasso-esque ‘all sides at the same time’ abomination. The Picasso is the only one worth getting spun up about......

[rich pierce]

If anyone really wants to re-debate the logic or validity of aging versus finishing a rifle as new or keeping it that way, please feel free to start a “new” topic or resurrect one of the scores of previous discussions on this topic - none of which changed anybody's views on the topic.

Please use this topic to discuss aging techniques.

[Nhgrants]

Fouling is mentioned above. I made  couple of wooden cleaning rods that had 2 inch brass tips with brass jabsfrom
Screwed in the end. I use mainly water and a little dawn dish soap to clean the barrel.  It did not take long for the ends of the rods and jag to turn black.  Fouled cleaning patches is what did it.

[draken]

Handle one of Mike Brooks' guns or maybe one by Herschel House and to me it just feels warm and well cared for, no sharp, clearly defined edges.

Just my two cents 

[Mauser06]

When I first got here, I had similar questions.   And got a similar response from Mike Brook's.   

I was (am) sorta determined to gain that warm look his (and a few other builders) can capture. 


What did I do?   


First, I researched on here....and Google....till my head hurt. 

Next, I did as Mike said....I took the bits and pieces I could find and experimented.  I still experiment.  I will continue to do so.   You don't have to experiment on actually guns.   

You learned to stain and finish wood somehow....most guys don't learn that by finishing a completed rifle stock....

[Bob McBride]

Ageing.  Wood: A lot of friction. Some strategic use of the driveway and other abrasive areas about the property, lag bolt and a hammer, sometimes an,  interesting object heated red hot with a torch, steel wool, abrasive scrubby pads, etc, etc. etc. the possibilities are only restricted by your imagination. Steel: Rust the bejimminies out of it and file/sand/steel wool it back. Various hammers punches tools etc. again only limited by your imagination. Brass: hammers punches tools etc.browning solution, bluing solution, ammonia fumes, blackpowder residue followed by (or not) lots of friction. Only your imagination will limit you.
 there you go. 39 years of experience regurgitated for free. Ain't the internet something? Seek and ye shall receive, no thinking, imagination or experimenting required.

Hey Mike, thanks for saving us all from thinking. It’s a huge load off. You're kind of like our very own Sun Tzu. What are your thoughts on using tannic acid along with AF to add patina to a very curly maple stock? I have heard Kibler say you lose some warmth and he often has to dye over the top to bring it back (my concern. I haven’t tannic acid-ed real nice maple and I’m a week away from applying finish to a rifle I plan on attempting to age to some degree or another). The up side seems to my eye to be a really nice darkening of the stock in those low areas and nice believable highlights on the edges and wear areas. Any thoughts on this vs. other stock aging (color wise) techniques? Thanks.

[Pukka Bundook]

Mike is on the money.
In fact with brass, giving it a good knocking about is the only way, as a nice patina on new unblemished  brass looks odd.
Look at old brass fittings;
They are covered in large and small and minute dings dents and scratches.  Engraving may be half worn away, (V hard to duplicate Exactly) but if you Can pull it off, it adds a wonderful air of "Mystery" to a piece.   (I love that!)  Well aged and bulled back to highlight the wear areas, and you might have a winner.....(If you got the Lines Right in the first place! LOL.)

[Bob McBride]

Ageing.  Wood: A lot of friction. Some strategic use of the driveway and other abrasive areas about the property, lag bolt and a hammer, sometimes an,  interesting object heated red hot with a torch, steel wool, abrasive scrubby pads, etc, etc. etc. the possibilities are only restricted by your imagination. Steel: Rust the bejimminies out of it and file/sand/steel wool it back. Various hammers punches tools etc. again only limited by your imagination. Brass: hammers punches tools etc.browning solution, bluing solution, ammonia fumes, blackpowder residue followed by (or not) lots of friction. Only your imagination will limit you.
 there you go. 39 years of experience regurgitated for free. Ain't the internet something? Seek and ye shall receive, no thinking, imagination or experimenting required.

Hey Mike, thanks for saving us all from thinking. It’s a huge load off. You're kind of like our very own Sun Tzu. What are your thoughts on using tannic acid along with AF to age a very curly maple stock? I have heard Kibler say you lose some warmth and he often has to dye over the top to bring it back (my concern. I haven’t tannic acid-ed a real nice maple stock and I’m a week away from finishing a squirrel rifle). The up side seems to my eye to be a really nice darkening of the stock in those low areas and nice believable highlights on the edges and wear areas. Any thoughts on this vs. other stock aging (color wise) techniques? Thanks.

I have tried tannic acid under nitric and found it turns my stocks very black. Which isn't always a bad thing if that's what you're after, but it takes alot of work to bring it back lighter again, lots of scrubbing. I just colored a stock yesterday. Started with kibler's nitric then followed with klien's reddish brown. It went SUPER dark after the reddish brown on me and I had a very busy couple hours scrubbing it back with a purple scrubby and mineral spirits. It's still sitting in the corner drying the mineral spirits out of it right now, but the color after I rubbed it out with the mineral spirits looked just right when wet. I'll have the first coat of finish on it late this afternoon. Lots of friction involved with that rub back which mellowed the whole gun out, very warm now.
BTW, I don't have a  Shitzu.

Thanks Mike. That sounds like a good alternative to the Tannic. I suspect you rubbed that back to patina in some highlights and lowlights? Did the lowlight areas around the carvings, cheek rest, etc. stay dark brown or nearer black when finished or did it lighten up with a few passes of the scotchbrite and mineral spirits? I know all wood is different but I’d like to hold onto some near black if I can.

The only reason one wouldn’t have a Shitzu, is if at some point, they (gasp) gave a Shitzu. I’m glad to hear you don’t have one.

[David Rase]

To get back to your original question on aging brass to a nice brown patina, here is a recipe that Bill Shipman shared with the forum about 13 years ago to darken his brass.  1 tsp. ferric chloride and 1/2 tsp. ferric nitrate in 1 pint of distilled water. The color will be red brown.  Apply it as you would for browning a barrel.
David

[Bob McBride]

He also asked about aging wood Dave, so I hope I’m not out of line on the wood patina question on this thread...

Thanks for posting that btw  I’ve written it down to give it a shot on some scrap.

[Bob McBride]

Thanks Mike. That sounds like a good alternative to the Tannic. I suspect you rubbed that back to patina in some highlights and lowlights? Did the lowlight areas around the carvings, cheek rest, etc. stay dark brown or nearer black when finished or did it lighten up with a few passes of the scotchbrite and mineral spirits? I know all wood is different but I’d like to hold onto some near black if I can.

I mainly rubbed the $#*! out of it just to lighten it up over all. I'll be going into the low wear areas with either some black paint or bone black. Or, If you want darker areas just don't scrub them back.
 I'll not really know what it's going to look like till I get some finish on it. At that point I'll adjust color as I need it.

Thanks.

[Mike Brooks]

Bob, When you're doing this stuff it is never the same from gun to gun. Adapt, adapt, adapt. It's an evolution that is forever changing for me. By next year I may be doing things completely different. BTW, I have never "practiced" this stuff. I just  do it on what ever gun I'm building and make it work.

[Bob McBride]

Bob, When you're doing this stuff it is never the same from gun to gun. Adapt, adapt, adapt. It's an evolution that is forever changing for me. By next year I may be doing things completely different. BTW, I have never "practiced" this stuff. I just  do it on what ever gun I'm building and make it work.

Roger that. I appreciate it. Thanks for taking the time.