A different one (simpler)

Very useful, thanks for sharing.
I may have to steal borrow this technique. File:Wink.gif

very nice looks right too... may i pass on a tip too, to make real brass/copper go green. Put the object in a bag with some ammonia, it goes green like a good'un. Only problem is that it also attacks stressed areas and can bite through thin pipe. (i once made a brass rod "globe" to go round a fake mermaid, when i patinated it all the carefully soldered joints pinged apart!)

CapnHarlock - that's marvelous! I'm only sorry that Krylon doesn't seem to be available in the UK - I've seen it mentioned before. I have recently found a metallic spray paint that doesn't instantly melt PVC piping, however it does scrape off. I take it that Krylon doesn't scrape off?

Thank you File:Smiley.gif

According to Krylon's advertising info, the "fusion" line of paint forms a molecular bond to the plastic surface, and (minor)
experimentation it doesn't crack and scratch off the way "normal" enamel/acrylic/latex spray paint does. It really does seem to be a different formulation, because (by direct observation) it doesn't adhere at all when the ambient air temperature is below about 40 degrees Fahrenheit - more like a lumpy-gel than a a smooth spray-coating (my back porch was too cold for working anyway..)

Apparently the HAZMAT import tax has made it too expensive to import into the UK on a widespread basis File:Sad.gif A bit of searching via Difference Engine Telegraphy has revealed one importer at http://www.caswelleurope.co.uk/krylon_fusion.htm but it seems outrageously-expensive.

Another search provided a hint that an airbrush (liquid) paint called "Special T" in the UK may have similar properties. (??)
(Note: I am in no way associated with the manufacturers or vendors of any of these products)

A fallback that works almost-adequately is to clean the PVC surface with acetone (removes the black US pipe-schedule printed info), sand the surface lightly with a fine emery-cloth then prime with a water-based latex spray paint and let it cure for at least a day (even though the can directions say 15 minutes), then spray on the metallics/add washes and seal with a clear coat.

You end up with a thicker coating that can obscure fine details, but at least it seems not to flake off when looked-at, much less actually used.

Perhaps I should acquire an armored-airship and begin a pirate-career, smuggling contraband artist's-supplies into Britain. File:Smiley.gif

Honky-Tonk Dragon-- I've added my own copper powder to acrylic medium for oxidation effects on paintings before, and it works great! The method I used was to paint a layer of clear medium, then quickly dust the surface with copper while the medium was still wet. Once it dried, I filled a squirt bottle with vinegar and sprayed the embedded copper. After the vinegar evaporated, I had a lovely mottled verdigris effect, which I then sealed in with clear polycrylic spray.
Just a note, verdigris is an unstable pigment, and so the color did shift some over time.

Not sure if anyone here is familiar with it...however Hobby Masters sells a variety of three products manufactured by A-West called Patina-it, Weather-it and Blacken-it.http://www.hobbymasters.com/browseproducts/A-West-Patina-It.html
quite effective correctly used, though also rather poisonous I fear. I used them on a project in 1999 when I was constructing my own fountain pen from scratch and was pleased with the results.