ageing a pedal with hydrochloric acid. thoughts? deep thoughts...

Started by darron, November 08, 2011, 06:51:53 AM

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darron

i've got a whole stainless steel sink that's 'reliced brown' in my laundry. stainless my arse....


well... i put a HEAP of salt in a container and melted it down with a tiny bit of boiling water. then topped this up quite a bit with vinegar and left some switchcraft jacks in there all day. nothing much really happened but the lead-free solder i put on the terminals to protect them oxidised dark grey



so over eager i stole some ferric chloride out of my etching tank that's had about the same 4l in there working for two years!! (sorry john... i know)


it only took about 15-20 secs to rip into the jacks then. a very dull grey. that's about it. then i put them back in the salt hoping they might 'rust' but they turned a nice pink. probably from the coppuric deposit in the ferric chloride!

i repeated without using the salt (:

i use the same technique with a cotton tip carefully on a carling switch. great! i also used steel wool to dull the plastic and it very closely resembles vintage plastic now. used isopropyl to remove 'mexico' printed on the side :D



one day later and the effect has increased. the components now have good ol' brown rust on them here and there. the jacks however have turned a little green. oxidisation of copper? brass? but i think that will clean up (:

i'll need to clean the contact points on the jack too...





the enclosure is difficult. the powder coating is VERY strong! i tried the screws in a box. nothing!

started stabbing it... not much.


kicked it around on the road outside!

left it for 1h in ferric chloride (steel) hopping the little dings would rust like crazy. nothing much...





the PCB will be another step. i have some phenolic base material but it's light beige/brown. i want that DARK ugly brown. i have a brown sharpie coming, will try this: http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-Your-Own-Multi-Colour-PCB/

i'm also considering buying some brown food dye and leaving it to soak. the keyword on the net for the material i want seems to be paxolin.


can't wait can't wait can't wait can't wait can't wait .....
Blood, Sweat & Flux. Pedals made with lasers and real wires!

darron

figured i owe you guys a photo for your advice.


here's some examples of the 'relic' gear i've collected/made so far.





the inside of the enclosure rusted up nicely where there was no power, but the outside i didn't know how to realistically chip without using sandpaper. i don't want to effect just the edges. i had to brush all the pink/green oxide off the inside of the enclosure.
Blood, Sweat & Flux. Pedals made with lasers and real wires!

darron

if i do the food dye or sharpie trick then I'm hoping it will work on the jacks and DC socket as well! that would really seal the deal....
Blood, Sweat & Flux. Pedals made with lasers and real wires!

birt

if there are areas of components you cant to protect (i would protect the contacts of the jacks for example) you can use liquid tape (google plastidip or something). its fast to work with and peels off easily. if you want dings and scratches they have to be in the right places. install a switch and knobs (there are never dings right next to a footswitch) and throw it a round a bit. you can hit it with something too.
http://www.last.fm/user/birt/
visit http://www.effectsdatabase.com for info on (allmost) every effect in the world!

Earthscum

Darron, jacks and such are actually nickel coated. Sometimes they are brass, sometimes they are steel. If you steel-wool them first and try to break through the coating (on steel), they will rust. Green is indicative of copper content, or brass. If so, you won't ever get them to "rust" properly. The dull gray should look sweet with the rest of the pedal aged, though.

Quickie... if you want to "age" knobs, go drop them in coarse dirt and stomp and grind them in, then use plastic polish and polish the hell out of the top, and a little on the sides. It makes the scratches smooth out and appear to have been there for a long time. The polished top (with nice deep gouges, chips, etc) will simulate the foot rubbing over the top of the knobs over years of use.    :icon_smile:
Give a man Fuzz, and he'll jam for a day... teach a man how to make a Fuzz and he'll never jam again!

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darron

Quote from: birt on November 13, 2011, 07:54:15 AM
if there are areas of components you cant to protect (i would protect the contacts of the jacks for example) you can use liquid tape (google plastidip or something). its fast to work with and peels off easily. if you want dings and scratches they have to be in the right places. install a switch and knobs (there are never dings right next to a footswitch) and throw it a round a bit. you can hit it with something too.

and it smells AWESOME! my favourite smell next to WD-40 hehe

good idea.. i wish i did it. next time (:


i was thinking about the switches etc being installed first to minimise damage around those areas... but maybe the pedal was in a gig bag and a screwdriver hit it too. i still have lots of wearing to do.



Thanks for the idea on the knobs Earthscum. I'll do it!! I have a buffer here so I'll try to be gentle polishing it. There's nothing that polishes better than human skin over time though. Take a look at the finger pads on some old MacBooks (:
And you're on the money about making the ageing have a life span. Not everything should look like it happened in the last decade. just like when jafo said some dents should be rusted and some should be fresh (:



i'll post more pics when some new ingredients come from overseas.
Blood, Sweat & Flux. Pedals made with lasers and real wires!

Chris oej

I did a metal scratch plate once - covered it in vinegar then left it in the garden for a couple of days. Then covered it in hair spray to fix it. Worked a treat.