Scale Plastic & Rail

Metal Burnishing Fluid from AK Interactive

Metal Burnishing Fluid
AK Interactive
Catalogue # AK 159
Available from AK Interactive for €9,95

I have no shame in saying that I'm not primarily an armour modeller, but when I do dabble in the 'dark art', there are a whole new set of techniques I have to remember. Any armour modeller worth their salt knows that the best tracks that money can buy come from Fruilmodel. I've used these on a couple of projects previously as their easy to assemble and rugged style appeals to me, plus they hang with a naturally, heavy sag which is authentic to the vehicle being modelled (once you've set the idlers correctly!).

With my previous projects, I had finished my tracks by first giving them a coat of primer, then black paint. From there, I would then apply slurry-washes of different pigments before them baring a little of the metal again over some fine sand paper. This made for a quite grimy looking track. Here is my attempt from a few years ago:

Now, I also model wooden ships, and when it came to representing the various cast metal fittings, I would degrease my parts and then place them in a brass-blackening solution for a few minutes, and et voila!

Uschi van der Rosten, through Mig Jimenez's company AK Interactive, have released a fluid that does exactly the same thing as the stuff I used for blackening brass. Adding pigments and slurry etc can leave a finish which isn't too resilient to handling, as when I move my Tiger I, there always seems to be residue from the tracks. With a chemically altered finish, this is very different.

But how does this fluid work?

The answer is 'very simply'. Pour out enough of this solution into a clean plastic container to ensure that your track parts will be submerged just over halfway. Now dilute this 1:1 with clean water. Before you apply your metal parts to the fluid, you must first DE-GREASE them. White metal parts, like most cast items, will have a mould release residue over their surface, and you need to remove this so the fluid has full contact with the metal surface. Failure to do this will result in a patchy finish.

The label has an instruction which recently AK Interactive said was incorrect. This was to wash the parts in soapy water. This must not be done due to the pH of soapy water and the fact that it's simply not intensive enough.

The answer is to use acetone. Yes, simple, base nail varnish remover. Don't use any coloured or perfumed types.

What I do is to soak them in this solution, also known as propanone, for roughly one hour. Before covering this and leaving it to soak, use an old toothbrush to work the acetone into every little crevice. Careful not to flick any acetone up into your eyes! I won't patronise you by saying 'wear safety glasses etc'!

When the parts are cleaned, leave them to dry for another hour. Acetone evaporates quickly, so this should cause no issue.

Now, carefully place the washed metal parts into your Burnishing Fluid and swirl them around to ensure no air is trapped between them. This is where you must now WATCH the parts as they start to darken. You may choose on a slight patina to form, or you may wish for a darker and richer finish. When you have the correct hue that you require, either decant the solution away from this container, or quickly remove the parts so they don't darken any further.

Now you must wash the tracks in cold water for a few minutes to rinse away any traces of Burnishing Fluid.

You'll now notice that the white metal has a very authentic oxide patina to it that is far more durable than using pigments. Check my photos below. You can also use a little fine steel wool to remove any burnishing as required.

So there you have it. Wash your metal parts and soak in a 1:1 diluted mix until you have the correct finish. That's the sort of technique I like the sound of!

The fluid itself comes in a plastic bottle with a tamper-seal around the lid. The bottle contains 100ml of solution, which has a blue colour to it, possibly indicating a copper content. The bottle is labelled as 'HARMFUL', and also warns of the risk of breathing vapours and getting the solution onto your hands and in your eyes. It's fine for adults, but don't let your kids try to use it!

So what do we think?
For just under 10 €uros, this bottle represents good value for money as you can use this for a number of applications. It's also easy to use and if you want to do your work in batches, just log exactly how long your first batch needs before repeating with the second batch of metal. Simple to use, and one of those products that once you start using it, you'll wonder how you modelled without it!

Highly recommended.

Our sincere thanks to Uschi van der Rosten for the review sample used here. To purchase directly from AK Interactive, click THIS link.

James H