Diy options for a dark/dull patina on copper

[gentles]

I’ve got a putter with a polished copper finish on it, it looks stunning but is going to cause some serious glare out in the sun

 

being a copper I know it will patina over time but I’m looking for some diy options (that don’t risk ruining the thing completely) to accelerate towards a darker duller patina that will reduce the glare 

 

I’ve done some searching and there are a bunch of threads but none of them seem to have active pics in them

 

my research has me considering hard boiled eggs in a bag, liver of sulphur, or finding a custom patina solution specifically designed for producing a dull patina 

 

any recommendations ? would love to see some pics of others putters with the results too for inspiration!

[5hort5tuff]

I find copper patins pretty quickly. Juat power through! 

 

Alternatively...can get it bead blasted to reduce the glare and it will patina evenly.

[gentles]

8 minutes ago, 5hort5tuff said:

I find copper patins pretty quickly. Juat power through! 

 

Alternatively...can get it bead blasted to reduce the glare and it will patina evenly.

will the bead blast go thru the copper plating?

 

do you think a patina on shiny copper will dull the glare? Just trying to work out if a bead blast is my only real option here 

 

thanks for the response 

[5hort5tuff]

Definitely patina will dull the glare. There are processes to patina copper but I don't know how the putter makers do it.  One may chime in here. 

 

Honestly don't know about plating and blasting. I would have to imagine a lit blast with a non coarse medium would be fine, BUT I'm no expert. Ask whoever would be refinishing it. 

[larryw]

A quick Google search produces this:

 

Soaking copper in white vinegar and salt will create a blue or green patina. Other ways of doing this are to bury the copper in sawdust or crushed potato chips soaked in white vinegar. The longer the copper is buried, the darker the patina becomes.

 

I have a Ray Cook putter and wanted to do the same - so looked it up.

Thanks.

[ChristopherMcDonald]

The post above will make it blue/green, sulfur (eggs is a good example) will make it a darker tone/hue, less on the blue/green and more on the brown/black scales

Google is crazy how quick it came back with results lol

[gentles]

2 hours ago, ChristopherMcDonald said:

The post above will make it blue/green, sulfur (eggs is a good example) will make it a darker tone/hue, less on the blue/green and more on the brown/black scales

Google is crazy how quick it came back with results lol

ive done lots of googling don’t worry just wanted to see some of them in action 

[ChristopherMcDonald]

13 hours ago, gentles said:

ive done lots of googling don’t worry just wanted to see some of them in action 

Fair play, just wasn't sure if you were aware of the sulfur trick, I certainly wasn't. 

[golfluvzme]

I'd shy away from the bead blasting, if at all possible.  While it MIGHT not cause an issue, I have had a few platings fail under fairly light blasting and it is a bear.  Once a small fracture occurs, the moisture now has a way under the plating and that is how the bad stuff starts.  You MIGHT get away with it, but the risk has outweighed the reward for me, over the past several years.

The crushed hard-boiled egg in a bag is one that I used several years ago and though it worked, I cannot for the life of me, recall the final result.  The vinegar and salt solution sounds interesting, also.

Give one a go and I think that the only one that has irreversible risk is the blasting.  As was mentioned, copper browns pretty quickly and sometimes it is easiest just to let time do its thing..........but, how much fun is that?

 

Best of luck!  OH!  And post pics when you take the dive.

 

LaMont in AZ

[Rory4Pres]

I let my copper putter patina naturally.  It started off shiny (and occasionally would get some bad glare from the sun) but that didn't last too long after playing in rain or wet conditions.  It didn't go dark fast but the super shiny finish didn't last that long.

[gentles]

3 hours ago, golfluvzme said:

I'd shy away from the bead blasting, if at all possible.  While it MIGHT not cause an issue, I have had a few platings fail under fairly light blasting and it is a bear.  Once a small fracture occurs, the moisture now has a way under the plating and that is how the bad stuff starts.  You MIGHT get away with it, but the risk has outweighed the reward for me, over the past several years.

The crushed hard-boiled egg in a bag is one that I used several years ago and though it worked, I cannot for the life of me, recall the final result.  The vinegar and salt solution sounds interesting, also.

Give one a go and I think that the only one that has irreversible risk is the blasting.  As was mentioned, copper browns pretty quickly and sometimes it is easiest just to let time do its thing..........but, how much fun is that?

 

Best of luck!  OH!  And post pics when you take the dive.

 

LaMont in AZ

wise advice. I think the overwhelming message coming thru is to be patient!

[tdeutmeyer]

I would definitely soak it in something to remove the Polish/ wax residue.  Otherwise any tarnishing that happens will be very blotchy.

[Mulliganizer]

I bought some of the stuff to try. Going to do it on some older bullseye putters.
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000C514O/

 

I'm also going to try and do this with a media blaster. Not sure how long the finish will last. But hey, that's why you do it on junk putters. 😛
  

Edited August 20, 2022 by Mulliganizer

[peter15walsh]

How long have you had this putter? I just put together a Scotty Detour NP2 with an Embrace copper insert, smooth mill last week. Played 1 round with it and it already has some patina popping up.