Gunmetal finish

[MicroSculpt]

Greetings, everyone!

I'm curious what the consensus is for achieving an authentic gunmetal finish on brass parts? I've heard of using actual gun "bluing" agents. Does anyone have a secret recipe that gives a convincing finish?

Actually, I'm not sure WWI weapons would classify as having a gunmetal finish. They look more black to me.

Anyway, how do you treat your WWI guns to get an realistic finish?

Cheers!

Tom

[MerlinV]

Hi Tom,

I use Tamiya "Nato Black" for most of my Black stuff. It is not actually black, but a very dark grey. I then dry brush using a Wargamers acrylic paint that I picked up at my local games shop. The colour is called "Bolt-gun Grey" and is a metallic grey.
A clear coat of Satin to finish puts back the oily metallic sheen.

Cheers,

Hugh

[melsharkskin]

I dip my metal gun parts in tool blacking fluid, which is available in any hardware store. It's inexpensive and works well on most PE parts as well as white metal. It puts a very thin, thoroughly matte black patina on the metal and replicates the finish on most machine guns of the period and later, even up to now.

However, I have seen photos of, say, Maxim guns that look definitely glossy, or semi-glossy, and I don't know where that comes from. Can anyone illuminate this for us?
Tom

[Cruz Verras]

Greetings mates.
This is a simple method, works every time for me.
First paint it black,any black,then rub it a little with a lead-pencil.
Give it a try.

Cheers Cruz.

[Kofoed]

Hi Tom,

I first paint a very dark grey. Then I dip an old brush in Model Master Metalizer Aluminium, leaves it to dry completely and dry brush with it.
This leaves a fragile layer, beware not to touch it too much and then touch other surfaces, so a layer of satin laquer is necessary at last.

Cheers,
Kofoed

[MicroSculpt]

Thank you all for the responses. It appears there are a wide variety of techniques.

The tool blacking solution is one I am increasingly curious about. Tom, you refer to it as a patina. Is it chemically bonded to the surface? Does it chip or rub off easily? Can it be applied successfully to non metal surfaces like plastic or resin?

I too have had good results with graphite powder. It provides a very subtle metallic sheen.

I wonder what a combination of tool black rubbed with graphite would look like?

I have had the opportunity to examine several examples of WWI weapons in person. The finish is consistently what I would describe as a low luster sheen. Definitely not matt. The finish also has a tendency to look more bronze-black than blue-black.

Further thoughts?

Cheers!

Tom

[MicroSculpt]

FWIW, I was snooping around about patinas for brass and came across this. Home brew recipes for different colors. It includes a brown-black. I'm not sure that would look like bronze though.

Patina Formulas for Brass, Bronze and Copper

I'll keep looking.

Tom

[MicroSculpt]

I came across a couple of other ideas. These are for achieving an "oil rubbed bronze" finish. That description pretty well matches the finishes I have seen on WWI guns.

Kilz Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paint at Walmart. I wonder how thick a coating this provides? I'm not a fan of can spray paint.

Rub-n-Buff Patina Metallic Wax finish ...
Polymer Clay & Craft - Foil, Pearl-Ex, Rub n Buff - Rub n Buff Metallic Wax

I used Rub n Buff a long time ago with good results. I believe it was with an enamel base color. An acrylic would probably work as well. I wonder how a black base with a hint of Rub n Buff Olive Gold Metallic would look? I suppose you could even tool black brass parts, paint the resin or plastic black, and then apply a hint of the Rub n Buff to unify the finish on both.

There are also Pearlex Powders. These can be mixed with various mediums. I have no experience with these ...
Polymer Clay & Craft - Foil, Pearl-Ex, Rub n Buff - Pearlex Mica Powders

I suppose the critical factor would be how finely ground the powders are. You don't want a twinkly looking surface.

Just exploring new possibilities.

Cheers!

Tom

Tom

[davecww1]

My usual gun finish is a panzer gray base coat, followed with a heavy wash of flat black. When this dries I then use the graphite from a soft pencil powdered on sandpaper and painted on it. For the bronze color try mixing some Testors copper in the small bottle with flat black, that may give you a base coat closer to the actual guns you have seen. I recently saw some German WW1 MG rounds, and they were not brass as we know it, but more of a metallic brown color. I mixed some Testors copper with dark brown and got a pretty accurate color for the ammo. The belts were painted a khaki color to look like the canvas belts used at the time. Only thing I'm not sure about is if the German bullets would have different colors on the tips to represent tracer, ball , armor piercing, or what color these were.
Dave

[JohnReid]

I use a silver and black gesso mix.Lightly sand the brass and apply a coat of gesso beforehand.