Hello there,
It's Konomi, the woman hiding under the name of Kykvendi !:)
For a first blog entry, i thought maybe a little tutorial on how to take care of your bronze Pendant or figure, would be a nice start.
Maybe you aquired a Pendant in my shop, in bronze, Ancient or shiny finish.
It's a surface treatment, like patinas. It's usually green on ancient roman statues, the green is obtained with oxydation and time.
Or it can be obtained, using different methods to oxydize the bronze faster.
In my case, I just burn the surface, or polish the surface.
These give the pendant a certain finish and unique touch, but may wear off with time, if it's rubbed on different surfaces.
No worries, it's still bronze underneath, but maybe a little more rough and matt, yellowish. I like this finish but maybe you don't like it.
Here, I give you some techniques and ways to give your pendants their original treatments.
Ancient bronze
What you need :
-
Flat pliers – that could go into fire
-
Gas burner
-
Brass Brush
-
Protective Wax for metal (like « renaissance wax »)
Burn the bronze !
More seriously, you can take the bronze object with your pliers and maintain it on the gas burner.
Keep it on the fire until it gets red. (not too much though)
Take care not to burn yourself in the process, and do this in a suitable place. (with pliers !! )
Put this directly under water and wait until it's dry.
Now, brush the pendant gently with a brass brush, -not too hard or it will wear off- and apply some finish wax on it.
Polish with a cloth, and tadaa, it's ready again.
For a shiny finish,
you'll need :
-A « Dremel » like tool, with polishing brushes and paste
The first option will give you a perfect polishing on your bronze.
OR
-Polishing products for metal, like the ones for the kitchenware in copper.
The second option will clean your bronze and make it shine, but you'll need to use the product several times to have a polished effect. (and take care of the product rest in small parts, it dries and stays)
OR
-Baking Soda with water, kitchen sponge.
This will clean the bronze, but you won't have a polished effet. It will be satin like. -but clean-
Now, if you really struggle with these options, or you don't feel like doing something on the bronze, go to a local jeweller or metal craftmen, they'll probably be able to take care of it.:)
They'll use different techniques to have the finish you need, like gold or silver plating, any kind of metal platings etc. (I unfortunately am not equiped for this kind of procedures.)
I hope this helps you guys !
I'll be creating different contents in the future, from tutorial to mini stories, I still don't know at this point.
I wish you all the best and a nice day ( or evening)
May you have all the protection needed on your journey !
K - Kykvendi