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How to use Liver of Sulphur for Metal Patina
Liver of Sulphur works on:
Neutralizing solution:
Liver of Sulphur works on:
- PMC, Sterling Silver, Copper and Brass
- Rainbow colors to black oxidized patina
- Liver of Sulphur
- 300 ml Plastic or Steel container with lid for LOS solution
- 600 ml Plastic or Steel container for neutralizing water bath
- 600 ml Plastic or Steel container for metal cleaning solution
- Tongs, Tweezers or plastic mesh basket for dipping articles
- Artists brush
- Liquid soap
- Baking Soda
- Toothbrush
- Latex gloves
- Work in a well ventilated area. LOS stinks like rotten eggs, even before being mixed into a solution. I carried a metal tin home from a jewelry show, triple wrapped in Saran Wrap, Aluminum foil, and a zippered plastic bag. My clothes in that suitcase all has to be washed as the smell had gone through all those layers!
- Avoid breathing in the smelly gases.
- LOS degrades quickly when exposed to light and air and when it has been mixed with water.
- Once made you will only have a short time to use the solution
- Finish and polish the item to be oxidized before using the LOS.
- Wear latex gloves when you clean your item and when using the LOS to avoid skin oils contaminating your clean metal.
- Mix up about a cup of warm water with about 2 tsp of Dawn or similar dishwashing liquid. Dip the toothbrush in the cleaning solution and brush all over your item.
- Rinse in clean water and lay on to dry.
Neutralizing solution:
- Mix 1 cup of warm water with about 2 tsp baking soda and stir to dissolve.
- Mix 1 cup of hot water (about 150 F) with a pea sized lump of LOS, about 1/2 to 1 ounce of LOS per quart of water.
- Stir until dissolved completely.
- Dip your item into the solution using your tweezers, tongs or by placing it in a mesh basket. If your item is a bead, string it on a wire or string.
- If you accidentally get any LOS in areas where you don’t want it, remove it with a polishing pad or similar item.
- The item should be agitated constantly until the desired patina is reached. You should be able to see the color develop. The time this takes will vary as it depends on the temperature of the solution but in most cases is approximately 30 seconds.
- When your item has reached the desired color, remove immediately from the solution and place in the neutralizing bath to stop the chemical reaction.
- Stronger solutions can produce darker shades but it can also speed up the process and make it difficult to control the final color.
Guide created: 07/10/07 (updated 10/22/09)
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