I saw from a recent post that there's a lot of welding expertise here so I thought I'd ask.... does anyone have any experience with silver brazing? My application is this -- I'm building cnc table for laser cutting sheet metal. I anticipate that I'll be able to cut 16 ga mild steel. I'm going to be making ornamental stuff, and I'm pretty sure that I'm going to get tired of the appearance of the mild steel. I was looking around for ways to create a new look for that material and was wondering if silver brazing would create a more stainless steel-like patina.

Is silver brazing a practical way to go to patinate sheet metal? I know I could get into plating but then I'd have to buy a new file cabinet to hold all the EPA reg requirements.

Other suggestions for steel patinas welcome. M'wife does glass work and I'm also going to investigate enameling.

owen

Temps may be to high for thin sheet metal, It Ain't Cheap.

you're talking about brazing over the entire surface of the metal, right? Although it's probably possible, you're likely going to find that it'll be highly time consuming and expensive for acetylene. You might venture over to www.caswellplating.com/bbs (Caswell's Forum) and see who is selling their plating services. That'll likely be an inexpensive way to get stuff electroplated, and I've seen some really great work out of those guys.

Both posts are relevant -- my sheet metal will probably deform at the relevant temps, and it'll be an excessive use of acetylene. I'll look into out-sourcing plating or doing something with bucket chemistry at home.

Owen

I think those powder coatings might be just the ticket -- any experience with 'em?

Powder coating may be a very good alternative. I know a powder coated finish is very tough looks very good.