A NO Cost Alternative to Patina for Steel

by dannyTechShopSF

15K74

Intro: A NO Cost Alternative to Patina for Steel

Here is a cheap way to patina steel without having to spend money on expensive patinas and without having to wait for something to rust.

you pee on it.

STEP 1: Clean Steel With Acetone

First you clean the metal with acetone to remove any oils. Oils protect the steel and will keep the process from working.

STEP 2: Roughen Up the Surface to Get Rid of the Mill Scale

exposing the raw steel and removing mill scale will also aid in the process

STEP 3: Using Gloves, Urinate Into a Disposable Cup

Clean your hands afterwards

STEP 4: Fill Plastic Bag With Urine and Place Steel Inside

Remember that if the steel is fully submerged and does not contact oxygen, then it will not oxidize.  A technique could be to use a pan filled with gravel, urinating into the pan, then covering with a plastic bag to seal in the moisture but keeping the steel out of the urine with the gravel.

STEP 5: Wait a Day or Two and Voila!

wash the steel afterward.

warning: it will smell fairly rancid... like 5th and Market in San Francisco on a warm muggy day...

4 Comments

al_packer 10 years ago

Remember that your urine is also great fertilizer. Dilute it with 4 parts water to one part urine and sprinkle it on your flower garden, or use it to maintain the moisture level in your compost bin. I don't recommend using it on edible plants because of the yuck factor, although my doctor says it's normally sterile. The yellow spots your dog leaves in the lawn? That's fertilizer burn; water them to dilute the pee.

11thHour 11 years ago

My grandfather told me that when he was an aprentice in a shipyard they used this trick to locate flywheels on shafts.
The bore of the hole in the wheel was made a real loose fit on the shaft. the flywheel was raised into position, the shaft inserted & trued up. The gap between the shaft & the wheel was stuffed with iron filings. A special seqence of blasts on the mill whistle got all the apprentices assembled arround the shaft. They were then obliged to pee on the joint until it was soaked. Left overnight the iron filings rusted & siezed up, which fixed the wheel permenantly on the shaft!