My current project is trying to make aluminum appear rusty. All of my research seems to indicate that paint is my only option, and it seems to be an expensive option at that. Any other routes GRM can suggest?
My current project is trying to make aluminum appear rusty. All of my research seems to indicate that paint is my only option, and it seems to be an expensive option at that. Any other routes GRM can suggest?
You can chemically dull it or blacken it, but you will never get it to look rusty that I know of. Gun bluing will give it a blue-black oxide finish and lye will dull the shiny mill finish. You can also get other oxide blackeners that give a kind of warm black-grey dull finish.
Without knowing your project, can I restate my dislike for fake patina? Particularly trying to make one material appear to be another? It's aluminum for a reason... so embrace its aluminumness!
Throw hot iron ore shavings onto your aluminum. They will fuse to the aluminum and then rust.
I don't like fake patina either, but if your goal is to hide mods to build a devious sleeper, I suggest soaking it in water with some iron filings added. I've seen something similar transfer rust to aluminum before, by accident.
There is a company that makes/made flat black with iron filler. It would rust like no tomorrow. I think I saw it on the drag bug episode of "Monster Garage."
Always had this fantasy about paiting a C4 Vette with it and watching heads explode.
Yeah my first thought was that this was a Yunickian plot to hide mods...
How much time have you got?
Take a steel bucket, fill with machine shop steel swarf and top off with water. Submerge aluminum part in this, set outside and check on it every few weeks.
The rust stains the alloy in weird ways, but comes right off with aluminum brightener
calteg wrote: My current project is trying to make aluminum appear rusty. All of my research seems to indicate that paint is my only option, and it seems to be an expensive option at that. Any other routes GRM can suggest?
You have to keep your steel tools and aluminum tools separate for a reason when doing frame repair. Grind some steel then do a light pass over the part you want to rust then throw it in a bucket for a while or use an artistic rust starter and it will rust like crazy.
Spray it with oven cleaner and leave it on a while. It will look crappy after you wash it off.
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