We have all come across rust more than once, it haunts us everywhere, it can be found both on fences, locks, chains located on the street, and on objects that we store at home, for example: on knives, keys, reconstruction swords and on gun trunks. This is a rather serious problem, because even a small area corroded by corrosion will grow over the entire metal product over time. Rusty objects become less durable, unpleasant in appearance, holes appear on them and they lose their functionality.
Previously, it was possible to protect or rid a metal object from rust only in industrial conditions, but now invented compositions with which you can deal with this problem at home.
The topic of this article will be burnishing with rusty varnish at home.
Why metals rust and how to deal with it
Rusty is a metal that has converted to an oxidized form as a result of environmental influences. Thin invisible films of oxide compounds, which are formed naturally under the influence of oxygen in the air, protect the metal from corrosion. Despite the fact that thanks to them, the metal has some passivity, yet they cannot completely protect it from the formation of rust.
Usually, additional protective films are applied to the metal to increase the corrosion resistance by chemical or electrolytic methods at industrial enterprises.
Compositions to increase the resistance of the metal to corrosion paint it black, however, a number of drugs can change the color of the product in the most unpredictable way. One of the most reliable compounds for protecting metal at home is rusty varnish.
We do not advise you to use industrial methods for the formation of a protective film at home, since this is a very expensive and useless task.
What is a rusty varnish
A rusty varnish is a solution, when used, magnetic iron oxide is formed on the workpiece. Also, this mixture of a number of components causes severe corrosion of the upper layer of steel.
Weapons barrels are most often stolen, although the burning of some other metal products is also possible.
The composition of rusty varnish includes acids, metal chips and sometimes heavy metals.
When burned with such a compound, a thick layer of black iron oxide is formed on the metal. The surface damaged by corrosion is removed with a stiff brush, and the black metal is a protective film.
Burnishing with rusty varnish. Pros and cons
Since oxidation of iron with rust (English varnish) is an acidic method, in addition to a number of advantages, this treatment has disadvantages.
The advantages of this method include:
• For objects soldered with tin, this method of oxidation is the main one. Because it is one of the few solutions that, when painting tin, does not damage it.
• When using it, a beautiful thick matte surface is formed, hiding all visible imperfections and scratches.
• Since the temperature of burnishing with rusty varnish does not exceed 100 degrees Celsius, you will not have to purchase special dishes for this procedure.
• Where you apply a rusty varnish, there the product will turn around.
• Compared with other oxidizing compounds, English varnish emits a small amount of toxic fumes when heated.
Cons of burnishing with rusty varnish at home:
• If the quality of the preliminary cleaning is insufficient, some elements may remain unpainted when applying this solution.
• Burning a gun with rusty varnish is a rather lengthy process, but, despite this, all actions must be performed quickly enough, otherwise you risk being left with too much rusted product.
• It may also be difficult to use this method due to impurities in the metal. This can be expressed in the appearance of reddish-brown patches on the product. To eliminate this effect, the resulting film will have to be removed and the entire burnishing procedure performed again.
• With a low content of iron in the alloy, it will be necessary to experimentally select a temperature of 20-50 degrees Celsius. If the temperature is not correct, the product may turn red.
That, in fact, is all you need to know about the pros and cons of burnishing.
Safety measures when working with rusty varnish
Like all burnishing agents, rust varnish is a fairly toxic substance, so when working with it for personal safety, you need to follow a few rules:
• Work with this substance only in the open air, as the vapors that occur when it is heated can adversely affect your health.
• It is necessary to protect the skin as much as possible, in particular wear gloves. This substance is very sticky and poorly washed.
How to prepare a composition for burnishing yourself?
Of course, you can buy the so-called English varnish for burnishing in specialized stores, but it will be much more profitable to do it yourself.
Preparation of rusty varnish at home is a rather time-consuming process, but quite real.
Components and tools you need:
• Hydrochloric acid (technical) - 60 ml.
• Concentrated nitric acid - 64 ml.
• Cast iron or carbon filings - 40 grams.
• Dross metal - 45 grams.
• Purified water - 1.1 liters.
• Glass or porcelain containers with a volume of more than 1 liter.
Rusty varnish (recipe):
• Pour a third of the scale and metal shavings into the container.
• Pour the entire prepared volume of hydrochloric acid into it.
• Slowly fill a third of the nitric acid.
• After the mixture acquires a greenish tint and brown gas develops, and then this reaction subsides a little, add another third of the chips and scale to the container.
• Add the next portion (another third) of nitric acid.
• After the reaction has resumed and has ceased again, add residual acid, chips and scale.
• Let the creamy mixture rusty color for a day, covering the container with a film fixed with tape or tape.
• When the mixture is infused, add all purified water to it.
• Shake the resulting mixture and pour it into a bowl more convenient for burnishing.
That's it, the burnishing mixture is ready. As you can see, making rusty varnish is quite simple.
How to prepare the product for oxidation?
In order to ensure the formation of a beautiful black film over the entire surface of a metal object, the product must be sanded, polished and degreased. If this is not done, then instead of a beautiful even layer of shiny black, you can get an uneven surface with stains and reddish-reddish spots.
Materials:
• Coarse sandpaper.
• Sandpaper "nulevka"
• Brush.
• Paste GOI.
• A solution for degreasing.
Solutions for degreasing can be done independently, for this, dilute soda ash at the rate of 40 grams per 1 liter of water or caustic soda at the rate of 13 grams per 1 liter of water.
Let's look at what operations you need to do before you burn the trunks with rusty varnish:
• Coat the surface of the item to be oxidized with rough sandpaper.
• Carefully walk on it with an emery "zero"
• Rub the brush with GOI paste and sand the metal with it.
• Wipe off any remaining paste with a rag.
• Bring degreasing fluid to 100 degrees Celsius.
• Keep the metal to be treated in the liquid for 20-30 minutes to understand that the metal has been degreased, remove it from the solution and make sure that the liquid covers the surface with an even film, not collecting drops.
• Rinse the fat-free product with clean water.
Degreasing and burnishing with a rusty varnish must be carried out immediately after each other, otherwise the natural oxide film will again form on the metal under the influence of oxygen, and the varnish will lie unevenly.
Application of rust varnish
Burnishing begins with the fact that in two stages a rusty varnish is applied (the instructions for its manufacture at home were outlined by us earlier). You need to apply this varnish, be sure to wear gloves, otherwise due to the sebum present on your fingers, the composition of the metal will not cover the places of your touch.
So, let's start applying:
• Apply a thin, even layer of rusty varnish over the entire surface of the product. If this is a weapon barrel, then its end must be handled with special attention.
• Use a thin brush to blot smudges, excess varnish and drops in the holes and grooves.
• After applying the first coat of rusty varnish, place the product in a warm place with a temperature of about 50 degrees Celsius. At the beginning of drying, the product will be a slightly yellowish hue, then it will begin to darken and become covered with a dark orange layer.
• When the rusty varnish is completely dry, cover the product with another thin layer, be sure to eliminate all leaks and irregularities.
• Place the product again in a place with a temperature of at least 50 degrees Celsius (it could just be a place near a stove or battery). As a result, the metal should be covered with a uniform rusty layer.
Boiling stage
This step is necessary to obtain a beautiful black color on the oxidizable metal product. It is necessary to digest the processed metal in the distillate or in steam.
Equipment for boiling can be prepared independently. To do this, weld a bottom to a metal pipe of a suitable diameter and install a heating apparatus from an electric kettle.
The process of boiling includes the following steps:
• Pour purified or rainwater into the pipe (tap water will not work because of impurities contained in it).
• Add nitric acid (1.3 ml of acid per 1 liter of water) to the container for boiling with water.
• Bring the solution to a boil and boil it for 5 minutes.
• Cook brown-orange metal products for 15 minutes.
The step of cleaning the rust layer
The cleaning step is carried out using a special brush, which you can buy in a specialized store or do it yourself.
To create a special brush with an electric drive you will need:
• Metal wire mesh with a diameter of 1 to 1.5 mm.
• Scissors.
• Nut, washer and long enough bolt.
• Drill or screwdriver.
The process of making an electric brush:
• Cut 4 to 7 circles from the net.
• In the center of each circle, cut a round hole equal to the diameter of the bolt.
• Fasten the wire circles with the nut, washer and bolt.
• Pass the protruding part of the bolt into the hole of the screwdriver and tighten it.
Clean the burnished surface with a makeshift brush until the entire surface becomes a shiny black color. The first time on the surface to be treated, most likely, there will be spots of a reddish hue, so all the above steps (coating with rusty varnish, boiling out and cleaning) will need to be repeated at least four times.
Oiling stage
If you have completed all the steps a sufficient number of times, then you should get a product evenly coated with a film of a beautiful color of graphite.
Now you can oil the metal. This procedure is performed not only to give additional shine to the processed metal, but also to remove residual moisture from the black film formed as a result of burnishing.
It is important to remember that after oiling, you will not be able to correct the irregularities and unpainted spots on the blued object, so it is so important to remove all imperfections before oiling.
• Heat the engine oil in a cleaned container previously used for cooking to a temperature not lower than 100 and not higher than 110 degrees Celsius.
• Boil your product there for at least 5 minutes.
As a result, you should get a shiny black product.
Let’s say once again all the points that you must complete in order to achieve the best effect.
• Preparation of the product for burnishing, which includes grinding, polishing, degreasing and cleaning metal from a degreasing solution.
• Application of rusty varnish in two stages (1).
• Digestion (1).
• Cleaning (1).
• Application of rusty varnish in two stages (2).
• Digestion (2).
• Cleaning (2).
• Application of rust varnish in two stages (3).
• Digestion (3).
• Cleaning (3).
• Application of rust varnish in two stages (4).
• Digestion (4).
• Cleaning (4).
• Oiling.
Despite the fact that weapons trunks are usually oxidized with such a composition, bluing with rusty varnish of home tools, dumbbells and weights is also found.
At the moment, they do not oxidize their trunks with rusty varnish in production, as there are a number of methods by which it is possible to make burnishing much faster and more profitably, but at home this is the most economical and simplest method known to us.
In this article, you learned the reason why rust appears on metal, examined in detail the production of rust varnish at home, using substances that are available on the market, examined the burnishing process with rust varnish with your own hands, and learned how to make all the tools you need for it yourself .