I am restoring a 2036 post war steam engine and have the glass bead sandblaster, air brush, and all the necessary knowledge to do all but one part. The boiler is a semi-gloss black and I have the paint. However, the steam chest area is a lighter black and looks like it was blackened with a process other than paint.
Anyone know how to duplicate this or know of a good article in CCTT that can help me?
Some metals can be blackened chemically. Most of the time it is done by adding another chemical like sulfur which reacts with the surface of the metal. What sort of acid is used and how the process works excactly I don’t know…
You can buy a bottle of the blackening stuff in the right hobby shop that works on several metals, some better than others.
I followed up on some leads and found this source for all kinds of home metal refinishing. The cold black oxide process for zinc castings (that is what Lionel did with the steam chests) that is $19.00 per pint (concentrate) and chemically not hazardous to you when using it. Here is the site: http://www.caswellplating.com/kits/zinc_black.htm
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