Winters or Freezing Weather Won’t Stop You From Doing Patina or Dye Work on Steel Art, or Other Metals, As There Are Several Ways to Get The Necessary Water To Your Work-Piece or Work Area. Below Are a Few Ideas & I’m Sure You May Have Others.
1) Warm Water in a Trigger-Spray Bottle or Even Better, a 1 or 2-Gallon Pump-Sprayer Filled With Hot Water is Just Fine.
2) A Heated Garden Hose. <$110 for a 25′ hose. amazon.com/Pirit-PWL-03-25-25-Feet-Heated-Hose
3) Another Option is a Wall-Mounted, Propane-Fired Outdoor Shower. Mine was Purchased for Under $150, has 100% Duty-Cycle and Came With a 10′ X 3/8″ Hose & Shower-Head w/ Paddle-Switch. I Bought it to Bathe My Dogs, But Have Found Several Other Uses For It, Including Warm Water Outside When My Regular Outdoor Garden Hose Was Too Cold to Use.
4) If You Have a Utility Sink in Your Shop, With a GHT (Garden-Hose-Thread) Threaded End, You Can Run Your Water Outside From the Utility Sink. I now Have 1 Sink Inside & 1 Sink Outside. Very, Very Handy! You Can Also Do All of Your Patina Work Inside the Shop. I Just Prefer Indirect Outdoor Lighting for Truer Color Definition. Working With Northern Light is Best, as There is Little to No Glare & a More ‘Full-Spectrum’ Lighting.
5) A 20-Gallon Rinse tank (See www.plasmaspider.com – Tech Tips viewtopic.php?f=89&t=11813 For Photo), With Clean Water & a Half-Gallon of Propylene Glycol Would be One Other Way. Denatured Alcohol or Isopropanol Added to the Rinse Tank Water Would Also Work as an Anti-Freeze w/ No Negative Effects on the Rinsing/Neutralizing of the Patinas. Don’t Use Automotive or RV Anti-Freeze, Though.
Note: If You Have a Yard Hydrant That Was Properly Installed, as Opposed to a Standard Hose-Bib, It Won’t Freeze Up as Long as You Disconnect Your Hose at the End of The Day. Moving Water (Through a Hose) Takes a LOT Longer to Freeze Than Static Water.
Click to Enlarge
The Metal Solvent Dyes AND Stains (Alcohol Inks) Won’t Freeze & Don’t Require Any Rinsing!
Thought for the Day: “It’s Simple Until You Make it Complicated”, Author Unknown.
Bill Worden, STEEL F/X®
1-800-710-1273
