A vendor came to my shop today with a set of gongfu tea accessories in this beautiful oxidized copper tone. I've seen plenty of hammered copper before, but this one had a deeper, almost purple-brown patina that I couldn't stop looking at.

Two things I'm genuinely curious about:

1. How is this color achieved?

I know natural oxidation plays a role, but this looked too even to be purely natural. Is it a chemical coloring process, a heat treatment, or something else? I've read about chemical conversion coatings being common for copper crafts, but I'd love to hear from anyone who actually works with this.

1. Is it safe to use with tea?

The coaster only holds the cup, so direct contact with tea is minimal. But I'm still wondering — does the oxide layer stay stable over time, especially with hot cups and occasional splashes? And is there any concern about the surface breaking down or leaching?

I didn't buy anything yet — just genuinely curious and wanted to learn from people who know more. Any insights would be appreciated!

I’ve built my ammonia fume chamber out of an old plastic tub. Lid seals nice and tight. I hang my copper from yarn I have running across the top of the container. I spray my copper with a mixture of salt and vinegar. 16oz white vinegar with 1 tbsp salt. After a few hours I get some blue patina but it’s so dark and splotchy. Can anyone give me some suggestions on a more solid turquoise patina?

I want to shoot for the moon on a project, but before i go out and buy materials and fabricate anything I wanted to get some insight.

I want to get the hido red patina on a .1mm thick copper disc. I would do this by heating it to glowing red and dunking in borax water. The issue is .1mm would warp.

What if I made a copper "washer" that went over the inner diameter of my copper disc and one that was bigger than my disc but slightly went over the outer diameter of my disc. Id basically sandwhich the 2 pieces to the copper disc. Heat it up per usual and the bulk of the copper is exposed to the heat and has the potential for the black scale to pop off in the borax water.

If i heated it to glowing red and dunked, would my copper disc warp?

is there another way to do this without any warping?

I've got some pots that my son's girlfriend thought she'd use. They now have the best seasoning applied to them that I've ever seen.

The problem is that it's on the outside and they're copper. Google says 1 tsp. of citric acid powder per liter of water will take it off. It didn't budge it at all. But the Internet is loaded with, "use citric acid!!!"

Okay. I've got citric acid.. What's the concentration I should use to have myself having to scrub each of these with BKF for hours and hours?

I've been trying to find real copper cups/mugs to gift a friend but I worry about where to buy them. I've looked on amazon and so many reviews for some say it's not real copper even though the company claims it is. Some other sites seem scammy too. Any good recs? thanks !

I'm building a range hood that'll be clad in copper sheet. The copper is non structural so will likely be quite thin.

Is an automotive style 2-part clearcoat my best option for a permanent durable coating, or is there something better? The sides will be very hard to access once installed so regular polishing raw copper isn't an option.

I've also seen these copper plated aluminum sheets at the big box stores which must have some kind of coating already since they don't tarnish. Not a huge fan but would that be a better material to use for my needs?

Thanks for any pointers!

I absolutely love working with copper!

Hii! So, my house is from the 1800's and we have this copper hood above the stove. I love it, its a little piece of history. Unfortunately, its dirty and when we cook, it drips green stuff onto our food. Is there a way to clean it and somehow prevent dripping in the future?

What metal causes copper to turn red around these spots? Could chrome or alumninum particles cause this? Or just another natural copper oxide color? It seems that the color is being caused by a particle stuck within the copper. On the other side of the bangle there seems to be more of this textured damage which I think is caused by some sort of galvanic reaction with metal kept next to it. What causes the rainbow like thin blue iridescent film on the copper?

Thanks!

I am struggling to find any in person stores to buy a copper hood. I’m looking for something 36-39 inches ~27 inches length. Anyone have a good experience with any websites or retailers for something similar and not astronomically priced? Thanks!

Hi there, I’m a roofer, got a decent access to copper scrap. First time attempt to make manmade patina also recently got my self a freehand rollers(for work use) and attempted to make some random shapes. With the torch treatment being playing for a while. It’s hard not to fall in love with those colors copper gives!
Thank for viewing! 🙌🏻🙏🏻

I need help deciding what to use. I have a customer who wants a 6’ long copper countertop. After doing some research I’m not sure what I want to use for bonding the copper to the substrate. Contact cement says not to use on copper but some say it works just fine. I have done zinc countertops using a Sika brand adhesive but not sure if that would bond well to the copper. I have read about some using liquid nails or other construction adhesives. Overall I need something that will give long term durability. I will be using a particular board for the substrate and will be bending the sheet underneath and fastening. Thanks

Just showing off. This is the coolest thing I've ever made.

32 mil and 16 mil copper sheet, 14 ga copper wire, 1/8 in steel rod, 1/4 in steel rod, 26ga steel sheet.

About 18in x 12in x 12in.

I've been dreaming of making this forever. And it will be the prototype for a series of 50. It was a lot of fun but hard to do.

50 metres of wire and 5 days later. And this isn’t all of them!

Hi everyone, hoping I can get some answers here. I've just started experimenting with copper and would love to make some gemstone copper rings. I'm really struggling with making the bezels, in a few ways.

1. I don't know if my bezel wire is too wide. When I hammer it down it either breaks or doesn't lay flush with the stone

2. Soldering. I used a hard solder for the bezel and a softer one for the bezel back but as soon as I try and fit the stone it breaks off.

Very frustrating!

Also can anyone recommend a supplier for copper sheets, wire, solder etc. I'm UK based.

Thanks in advance 🙂

Hello everybody!

I made a small metal works business called Eldershine. I hand forge copper cuffs and pendants. I officially released my first 4 cuffs. Pendants are in the works. I’ve got a very small following but I look forward to growing this project of mine. I made an Instagram and an Etsy page and have made 6 sales so far. Woooh! I just wanted to share with you all. Enjoy!