# REO Patina



## Papa_Lazarou (14/4/16)

Okay, Reomates.

Here we have a brand new, pristine REO grand with virgin brass door.




I want to patina the door, and although I'm sure you've seen and/or posted in similar threads on this before, I would love to get your thoughts on approach. Think of it as a conversation starter, if you will.

Bear in mind that I have never patinaed anything before (except for a 1969 VW Beetle... and that was by accident... and is a long story).

Reactions: Like 2


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## Rob Fisher (14/4/16)

Patina is a fancy word for "Old and in need of a clean"...  I guess my mild OCD makes me not much of a fan of Patina... I have a brass mini REO which I hide because three minutes after shining it it starts it's wayward way. Mind you I have a Mini that was piffed by Rob and it is patina and it actually looks good but it has been clear coated. I love some of the blue patinas on copper mods... but by in large I'm not a huge fan.

We have a couple of guys here on the forum that have done some pretty good work and I'm sure they will pop in with some advice...

Reactions: Agree 1 | Funny 2


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## Chris du Toit (14/4/16)

Papa_Lazarou said:


> Okay, Reomates.
> 
> Here we have a brand new, pristine REO grand with virgin brass door.
> 
> ...


Hey @Papa_Lazarou I have done a patina on my SMPL mech a while ago. Came out great, I sedate ammonia and salt method. 

Sand the mod / door with very fine sandpaper (1500 grit or higher), rinse under the tap and dry. Do not get any fingerprints on it, I used latex gloves for this. Then rub baking soda on it and rub it in all over to remove any other impurities that might be on the metal. Rinse and dry again. 

Get a shallow dish and put a few paper towels into it, soak with ammonia (please make sure to wear a mask, fumes takes your breath away) 

Mix more salt than needed with some ammonia, enough so you will be able to spray or squint enough over the metal. Shake it thoroughly to mix. Suspend the metal inside the container by any means you wish. For areas you so not want to patina you can use vaseline to cover them. Especially if there is any threading! Patina is not good for threading like on the SMPL, it eats the threads. 

Once suspended spray or squint the ammonia & salt mixture over the metal. Close the lid and leave it for about 30 to 60 minutes to start seeing how the patina evolves. Spray some more of the mixture and leave till you are happy with how it has developed. At least overnight, the longer the better. 

Once finished rinse under like warm water and pat dry while not rubbing. Once properly dry you can clear coat it. I would recommend Rustoleum clear coat, you don't want to use cheap spray paint, it peals way to easy. Drop a few thin coats and let dry properly in between and then 2 or three thicker coats till you are happy. 

Last word of warning, patina eats away at the metal... So just bear that in mind when you want to remove it some day. You might have some potholes  


Sent from my SM-N920C using Tapatalk

Reactions: Like 1 | Winner 4


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## Silver (14/4/16)

You may find this thread helpful @Papa_Lazarou 
http://www.ecigssa.co.za/anarchist-mod-ammonia-and-salt-patina.t7839/

Also paging @Necris - i know he has done some beautiful patina things

Reactions: Like 1 | Thanks 2


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## Andre (14/4/16)

Looking forward to this. 

Calling @Necris and @Viper_SA.

Reactions: Thanks 1


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## rogue zombie (14/4/16)

Ooh love Patina.

Does is have to be brass? or can one patina aluminum too?


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## blujeenz (14/4/16)

rogue zombie said:


> Ooh love Patina.
> 
> Does is have to be brass? or can one patina aluminum too?


Only brass or copper, aluminium just gets a white mold like oxidation.

Reactions: Thanks 1


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## Chris du Toit (14/4/16)

rogue zombie said:


> Ooh love Patina.
> 
> Does is have to be brass? or can one patina aluminum too?


Only copper or Brass... you can patina aluminum but you wont get the blue colors from brass or copper and its a different process. You do however get patina spray type of stuff for different metals. Don't know if you can get them locally though?

Reactions: Thanks 2


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## MurderDoll (14/4/16)

I did a patina on my Mini door and brass button a good while ago, for the life of me I cannot find the image i had posted on here.
I still have it at home in the drawer. Will remember to take a photo of it and post it here for you tonight.

Reactions: Like 2


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## Viper_SA (14/4/16)

http://www.ecigssa.co.za/vanilla-mod-patina.t17123/

Reactions: Like 1 | Thanks 1


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## Necris (14/4/16)

To add to what has been said. I would rather rinse in acetone over water. Brass takes longer to patina than copper. I would also recommend CA glue for clear coat over spray clear.
@Genosmate ha done some clear coating on rep doors afaik. Possibly he can advise on the intricacies of door fitment after treatment

Reactions: Informative 2


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## Spydro (14/4/16)

While I did buy some brass Reo doors to patina, I never got around to it. Same with my brass and copper tube mods. So I have never done it on any vape gear. My past experience doing patina on metals was decades before vaping was even a twinkle in someones eye. And it was sometimes incorporated with other effects. 

There are endless methods for doing 'patina' on almost any metal. What the metal is dictates which of the methods works best and which not as well or not at all. And some of the methods use very dangerous caustic chemicals that may also need to be hot finishes, not something easily done at home. Luckily copper and brass are arguably the easiest. For brass and copper on vaping gear, most common is probably the ammonia/baking soda/kosher or sea salt method, but also mustard, vinegar, alcohol inks, ready made patina gels, torching... or combinations of them for different effects and different levels of ease of doing have also been done. 

Fortunately, now days there are also endless videos on line that show how to do all of them, with many of those videos actually doing vape gear specifically. So a little time spent researching will pay huge dividends on even a first attempt.

Basic search...
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=patina+mod

Or do a specific search naming the method you might want to use... 

Have fun with it Papa.

Reactions: Like 1 | Winner 1


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## Petrus (14/4/16)

This can be VERY interesting.

Reactions: Agree 2


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## Genosmate (14/4/16)

Necris said:


> To add to what has been said. I would rather rinse in acetone over water. Brass takes longer to patina than copper. I would also recommend CA glue for clear coat over spray clear.
> @Genosmate ha done some clear coating on rep doors afaik. Possibly he can advise on the intricacies of door fitment after treatment


I've messed around with a few ideas for clear coating but only over alcohol ink,not tried patina yet. Alcohol ink is easy to play with and some nice patterns are pretty easy especially using the method where it's flamed after applying. Don't think I'll be much help to @Papa_Lazarou though because what I've used for clear coat I'm pretty sure is only available here, it's just a liquid plastic used for waterproofing and whilst I'm sure there must be some solvent in it there's not enough to wipe off an ink finish.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Papa_Lazarou (15/4/16)

Heewack! Thanks for the tips and suggestions, lads.

I've been doing some research on patina process - following the threads and techniques suggested above. Trying to make up my mind between the salt/ammonia route and the ink/torch trick.

Prolly should have ordered a couple of doors. Might have to do that in the end.

The apres procedure clear coat I'm all over - lots of options there.

Reactions: Like 1


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