How to Oxidize Bronze and Copper Jewelry Wire

I've spent this past week working in a bit of frustration to learn how to apply that lovely patina you often see on copper and bronze jewelry pieces... the 'trick' to the copper wire is this ... REMOVE the anti-tarnish coating that the wire comes in.  Certainly you can purchase raw copper wire, but I have tons of this coated wire so I didn't want to waste it.  I've read many pages on the internet regarding how best to do this but I don't care to "use a chemical".  Eventually I found that the 'old fashion' muscle and steel wool rub down worked the best and was ultimately, the easiest thing to do.  That's right, you read it right, I rubbed each piece of wire down with a steel wool brillo pad before I used it for wrapping.  Certainly I tested the results with small pieces of wire before I trusted using it for jewelry but eventually got it down to results I love.  I want to share the details with you because, quite frankly, it was a bitch to figure out. ;)  I hope you find the information useful.

Regarding bronze jewelry wire, it was much easier to work with as I didn't need to remove the anti tarnish, perhaps this brand of wire doesn't come coated or the bronze is simply a different animal.  I'm still learning how to work with these wires and their behaviors, so stick around and learn with me.

Okay, here we go...

Oxidizing Bronze Jewelry Wire, specifically Wrapit Jeweler's Bronze, dead soft wire.  To darken this wire, I used ammonia and found it to work pretty well and I like the look it gave.  First remember to work under good light, using gloves and in a well ventilated room or near an open window.  Ammonia has a strong potent smell so be careful with it.

1.  Get two containers of glass or heavy plastic, one small (like the pill bottle I used) and one large, like an old plastic tupperware, which also has an air tight lid.

2.  In the smaller container, fill it about 3/4 way with simple house ammonia and place it inside of the larger container.

3.  Put your jewelry piece inside the larger container along side the ammonia container, careful not to get it splashed on.

4.  Put the air tight lid on the whole thing and wait about 20 minutes... you will see your piece gradually darken and turn from the bright 'yellow' bronze color into a dark, almost black grey color.  Remove it from the container, rinse it under water to remove the fumes and you're ready to clean it up.

5.  I used vinegar and q-tip swabs to clean the tarnish off of areas that I wanted to highlight.  These pieces are a bit smaller so I didn't use the steel wool right away.  Make sure to wash off any remaining vinegar once you have it looking as you like.

While the vinegar does a good job of removing the tarnish, it doesn't give it that nice 'shine' and so this is where the steel wool brillo pad is needed.

6.  Gently brush over your piece being careful not to snag the wires with the steel wool.  Continue to buff it until you get the results you like.  This process will add a brilliant 'sparkle' and shine to the wire.

7.  To preserve the highlighted effects and prevent it from gaining more tarnish over time, coat your finished jewelry in either bees wax or I've read a floor wax will work also.

See the difference in the look of the bronze wire in these two finished and buffed pieces as compared to the one above only having been cleaned with the vinegar.  I think it makes a huge difference.

Click these images to enlarge.



Oxidizing Copper Jewelry Wire using Liver of Sulfur (LOS)

1.  Remove the anit-tarnish that comes coated on most copper wire purchased from craft / hobby stores.  You can google the various ways to do this, but I found that a heavy steel wool brillo pad and some arm muscle worked quite well.  Contrary to what I've read about it maring and scaring your wire, it didn't and should work well for you.  Make sure however, that you get ALL the anti-tarnish off otherwise when you soak the finished piece in the LOS, it will come out 'spotted'.  You can literally 'see' the color difference in the wire once the anti-tarnish is removed.

2.  For the copper, I used the gel form of Liver of Sulfur which can be purchased at Firemountain.com or directly from CoolTools.com
I have yet to try the bronze wire in this solution but will be doing that soon also.  ;)

3.  Follow their simple instructions printed on the bottle and the results will be great.  It works in a matter of 'seconds', happening very fast, so I recommend that you 'dip' your piece until you get the patina level desired.

Again, keeping safe practices in mind, use gloves, use a spare piece of wire as a 'dipping tool' which you can attach your jewelry piece onto.  Don't get your hands directly into the solution and work in a well ventilated area or near an open window.  If you don't know already, then know now, that the liver of sulfur smells exactly like a batch of rotten eggs, so be prepared for it.  The Patina Gel provided by CoolTools is a great way to work with liver of sulfur as opposed to the 'chunk' dry pieces.  I've used that before also and it's not as great as this well designed, clean bottled gel form.

4.  After your piece has the patina desired, get it under the tap water and give it a good rinse, then using your steel wool brillo pad, give it gentle circular buffing.  Remember also to do the back side for a clean professional look.  Coat the finished masterpiece in beeswax or a simple floor wax to preserve the look you've worked so hard to achieve. ;)  Enjoy and I recommend you give CoolTools.com a look, they offer many great Patina dyes that I have yet to try, but will, in the future.

This marvelous heart isn't quite finished yet but will be available in my etsy store along with many other pieces when they are done.  I currently offer a variety of wire wrapping tutorials, which you should check out in the meantime. Have a wonderful and creative day!