This is a method to blacken a silver plated or brass razor fully. The end result looks very much like the blued finish on a ferrous steel gun.
To use, heat water in a glazed ceramic, borosilicate glass or plastic container to 160 F degrees or so, enough water to fully cover the item to be darkened. Add a few drops of Liver of Sulfur and stir to mix. Should be a pale urine color. Make up a second baking soda solution as would be used for the aluminum foil and baking soda silver polishing method.
Make sure th4e item to be darkened is CLEAN. No oil, wax or dirt on it. I use Oxi Clean and hot water with a tooth brush then rinse thoroughly. A run through a dishwasher should work too.
Using a stainless steel perforated spoon or a stainless steel small sieve, dip the item or items to be darkened into the liver of sulfur solution. Lift out and watch it darken. Re immerse and lift out repeatedly till as dark as wanted. I just left in for a minute or so to get the maximum possible silver darkening. Immerse in the baking soda solution to stop the process then rinse thoroughly. Polish with a soft cloth and then wax using Renaissance wax or a similar non abrasive hard paste wax.
I have used only on silver plating so far but this is supposed to work on copper and most copper alloys such as brass and bronze too.
I am told the Liver of Sulfur solution has a limited life after being made up so you might want to gather up everything that you want to darken and do it all at once. A 2 ounce bottle of the Liver of Sulfur is enough to do a lot of stuff as the solution only needs 5 to 10 drops or so. More works faster but the process is quick.
The below photo is of the razor I treated, before treatment. The treatment evened out the color and removed the mottled appearance.
Both this and the egg method, which I have not used, release hydrogen sulfide so use in a well ventilated area as the hydrogen sulfide is a toxic gas. Stinks too.
The razor I tried this on had good complete silver plating without gaps. Not sure how one with the plating worn off the underlying metal will look. I would expect different shades of black from darkened silver and darkened brass.
The Liver of Sulfur is available on Amazon. Do a search. The 2 ounce bottle I bought can do hundreds of items as very little is needed per session.
To use, heat water in a glazed ceramic, borosilicate glass or plastic container to 160 F degrees or so, enough water to fully cover the item to be darkened. Add a few drops of Liver of Sulfur and stir to mix. Should be a pale urine color. Make up a second baking soda solution as would be used for the aluminum foil and baking soda silver polishing method.
Make sure th4e item to be darkened is CLEAN. No oil, wax or dirt on it. I use Oxi Clean and hot water with a tooth brush then rinse thoroughly. A run through a dishwasher should work too.
Using a stainless steel perforated spoon or a stainless steel small sieve, dip the item or items to be darkened into the liver of sulfur solution. Lift out and watch it darken. Re immerse and lift out repeatedly till as dark as wanted. I just left in for a minute or so to get the maximum possible silver darkening. Immerse in the baking soda solution to stop the process then rinse thoroughly. Polish with a soft cloth and then wax using Renaissance wax or a similar non abrasive hard paste wax.
I have used only on silver plating so far but this is supposed to work on copper and most copper alloys such as brass and bronze too.
I am told the Liver of Sulfur solution has a limited life after being made up so you might want to gather up everything that you want to darken and do it all at once. A 2 ounce bottle of the Liver of Sulfur is enough to do a lot of stuff as the solution only needs 5 to 10 drops or so. More works faster but the process is quick.
The below photo is of the razor I treated, before treatment. The treatment evened out the color and removed the mottled appearance.
Both this and the egg method, which I have not used, release hydrogen sulfide so use in a well ventilated area as the hydrogen sulfide is a toxic gas. Stinks too.
The razor I tried this on had good complete silver plating without gaps. Not sure how one with the plating worn off the underlying metal will look. I would expect different shades of black from darkened silver and darkened brass.
The Liver of Sulfur is available on Amazon. Do a search. The 2 ounce bottle I bought can do hundreds of items as very little is needed per session.
