Best Results for Copper Patina

(by Novacan )

A suggestion to achieve great Copper Patina results.

Use TSP (tri sodium phosphate) as the only cleaning agent. It is available from paint stores and some grocery stores. It is a crystal that looks like sugar and must be dissolved in warm water. Follow mixing instructions on package.

It is a powerful cleaning agent, but its main benefit is that it's a chemical neutralizer for zinc chloride based flux.

Scrub the piece using a plastic bristle brush (like a hand scrub brush), then rinse thoroughly to remove all residues of TSP. Damp dry to remove most of the rinse water...excess rinse water will dilute the patina. Then apply the patina.

(Detergents are a contaminant that hinder good patina results.)

P.S. Because TSP neutralizes zinc chloride, it will eliminate the chalky white residue known as 'white mold'. White Mold is caused by the continued slow chemical reaction of flux residue.
It is really important to neutralize all traces of zinc chloride.

Reply
I'm not sure where this information came from. The only Novacan web site that I found did not have any instructions, only MSDS information. I spent quite a while trying to track down the validity of this information and found nothing.

If the person that submitted this would let me know the source they got it from, I would be more than happy to tell my visitors to go ahead and try it, and I would try it myself.

Sue