Novacan Industries Super Brite Copper Patina for Solder (Original Version)

Copper has always been my favorite metallic finish. I was thrilled to learn of copper patina for my stained glass pieces. I always found myself favoring the appearance of the unfinished copper foil before applying typical patina.Be sure to clean flux and carbon off thoroughly for the most shiny finish. Overall, this functions as I expected and I am quite pleased with it. You use very little on most projects, so the bottle seems like a good value as well.

I have used this brand before for their black patina which I love! This patina was very easy to use and worked well. I did have to go over the solder twice to make sure it was all covered and turning copper.

Nice alternative to black lead patina when doing stained glass

It works well without having to submerge your work into the solution. Just a toothbrush and a bit of scrubbing will get a good application. Now, to be fair, this is just copper sulfate with some acid to help penetration. You could just as easily purchase a few pounds of copper sulfate crystals and make a bathtub full of this stuff for the same price... I would not buy this product again, as the crystals are much more economical.Now, some people have problems with the copper finish (as compared to black), because it does not appear to go on evenly... I feel that using this properly, you can get very good results, with almost no uneven spots. It's important to understand how this process works, and that is there is a chemical reaction with the copper sulfate and the lead/tin solder which creates a VERY THIN surface of copper. It's also important to realize that copper oxidizes incredibly fast, as it is very reactive. You will need a clean surface first, which is easy to achieve with good soldering skills, followed by a rinse in the sink with some dish soap and a toothbrush. When you apply this correctly, you will see the entire surface turn bright orange/red, and then it will begin to dull after just a few seconds. This is supposed to happen. If you are careful however, you can polish it up to have a very nice shine.. just remember that the copper layer will be extremely thin, and any heavy rubbing will wear it off. Adding wax right after it is polished will help prevent/slow future oxidation.People who use black patina will find this much harder to use, because it does not hide poor soldering techniques/mistakes, and any imperfections will be highlighted by dark spots on the copper finish. Thus, using an abrasive like steel wool (or bronze wool) will scratch up the surface, and it will not come out shiny. You will have to go back in and re-flow solder wherever you used wool because it will mar up the solder so badly. It's OK to do this with the black patina, because you want it to look worn and do not want any shiny/slick spots. The best approach here is to have a nice, clean, shiny surface already. So, the first thing you need to do, is have good solder lines. This means using proper heat to flow your joints evenly, and enough flux so the solder can flow and cure with a natural shine.One method is to use 50/50 + 60/40 or 63/37. Well formed solder will have a nice consistent bulge with no gaps, pits, rough spots, breaks, or iron marks. Both sides of the piece should have good solder lines. The easiest method (especially for people who have those set temperature irons like Weller) is to tin the piece with 50/50 using a lot of flux. 50/50 takes a lot of heat to melt due to the high lead, so if you put it down first, and then go over it later, you won't have any bleed through from one side to the other unless you keep your iron at a high temperature/in one spot for a very long time. Make sure that the 50/50 solder flows into all of the gaps and penetrates the other side, then let cool and go over and tin the lines on the other side. Holding the iron on gaps will produce bubbles as the solder flows into the voids, fill them all. You may then allow the 50/50 to cool, turn your iron down to a much lower temperature (or now work much faster), and use 60/40 or 63/37 to try and get a good outer finish. The higher tin will melt faster and merge with other solder with less heat, creating even lines on top of your harder-to-melt base.You can also use just one type of solder, but vary the heat from your iron. If your iron does not have a temperature control dial, you'll have to be very careful how long you hold your iron on the surface, and keep track of the thermal capacity of the piece you are working on --- if you keep going over nearby areas, solder will flow much faster than on different (cold) areas due to heat build up. Also, if you have areas with a lot of wire or large gaps filled with solder, they may not turn out too pretty.

I was really skeptical because of the negative reviews this got, but I had a gift card and figured I could always return it. I am so happy I got it! The negative reviews say that it doesn't work, and when I tried it at first, I thought they were right. The solder just turned a weird pewter color mixed with black splotches. And I may have shouted: "Oh no!"And then I looked at the directions more carefully...This stuff works great, but the solder has to be super clean (free of rosin/flux/oxidation) I saw a tutorial online for using this product and it recommended some different products, but I am cheap, so I used some store brand window cleaner with ammonia in it and a dollar store scrub pad to get the rosin/flux off. Then I used some turtle wax, which is what I had at the house, rubbed it on and wiped it off to help with the oxidation. Then I went over the solder with this stuff and it worked beautifully.So then, I wondered if I had ruined the first piece I had done or if I could fix it, so I did the cleaning steps above (window cleaner and turtle wax) and reapplied the patina solution...and boom, it worked...no more weird pewter color...just a lovely copper. I had a few stubborn black spots left, but I found that if I got a drop of the patina and scrubbed it in with my brush (which is the recommended tool to apply this stuff with...plastic handled paint brush) I could even get the spots to disappear!So hooray! I hope this helps.

Exactly as detailed. Read the instructions before using, and wear gloves 🥴

Quality product . Just make sure that you are using it with the right type of solder - whether it be lead or zinc

The mfgrs directions result in a dark & dull appearance. After several discussions with very experienced stained glass artists, I found that the solder needs to be polished FIRST & then apply the patina and finally, waxing.