Aging Nickle Coated Screws

[goodwoody]

Groovers, How do I remove the nickel coating from screws to match the aged appearance of a chest? Regards Damien.

[Master Splinter]

Quickest way without acids would be sandblasting. This'll leave a very rust-friendly coat if you want to age the screws.

[goodwoody]

Just put them into some conc h2so4 and them placed them in salt water to slightly rust them. Will dry and wax in the oven tomorrow. Damien.

[bsrlee]

Chris Schwarz recommends Citric Acid to remove plating (rather than your skin or clothes) - he gets it as a powder in the supermarket where they sell 'canning supplies' - in English that would be preserving supplies. Most local supermarkets in Sydney just look at you strangely if you ask for something that is DIY rather than totally processed, so you might have to look to a specialist shop that sells pickling jars and such, possibly even a home brew supplier may have it.