Will human urine work just as well?

I am Johnny Mystic

Depends. If you eat mice and birds, it might work just fine.

Another winning reply...

Does that make me a three time winner?

Whew, how quick these threads can take a turn <lol>

My feeling is that the mirror polish that I put on my cups is for helping to produce a great patina. If the copper is polished before letting it tarnish, the patina will end up being the smooth nice looking color blend most of us desire. Greg's tips above will lead to a nice patina over time. The more you handle the cups, the quicker the patina will develop. As the patina is developing and you handle the cups, you will notice your hands will stink from the copper oxides forming. Wash your hands when washing the cups. Dry both hands and cups. Once the patina is where you want it to be, coat it with hard carnuba wax - hand buffed. Once the surface is sealed with the wax, you can freely use the cups with no oxides stinking up your hands. Rewax every now and then to keep a good seal on the patina. BTW - a slow naturally forming patina will look better (richer) than a quicky job with some form of added chemical action - and it will be more permanent.
Jim

I'll add this -- if you want the cups to patinize evenly and equally, do not stack them. Make sure they are open to the air.

Lots of great advice above, yet some of it seems specific to copper. Any reservations about Greg's, Bill's, Jim's, etc... advice on developing some patina character on some brass cups, specifically, a new set of brass Johnsons? (Dish soap, water, dry thoroughly, and wax when happy)

I think that is the route to go with the Johnson cups. They do not have a clear coat on them, if I am not mistaken.

I have tried for a long time to develop a nice patina on my various sized copper cups. The minis seemed to develop fine. My regular sized and large sized copper cups have set for 8 to 9 months and are still just beginning to gain a patina. I wonder if it has to do with living in an arid environment. Love the cups, so I'll just be patient. I hate to start using chemicals--with no mechanical or artistic skills, I'm afraid I'd just mess them up. So it goes...

Flimnar

My artistic skills are nearly non-existant, but it's not that hard to get good results. You remember the small tops I had at Gazzo's class? That color was the result of a couple evenings of playing around with some patina solution from Home Depot. If you mess up too much, just hit them with some Wright's Copper Cream and start over.

PM me if you want to try it and we can talk details.

I don't think that removing a little metal with polish is a big deal with solid copper cups, but be more careful with plated or engraved metals. You could polish through the plating or diminish the engraving like some manic grandmothers did with their fine silverware. Destroying the very investment they cherished.

I like to keep my mini cups and micro chop clean, since I use them in a food service area, but my full size set was fake patinated. I spend four hours cleaning what looked like dry chuck grease off, that was spun into the cup. Maybe it was undercoat. It was too much and coming off on my hands and props. So I got them 80% clean and put the carnauba on so they have some darkness near the rings and inside.

Also I use Endust to clean all the cups, cuts grease and does not leave any coat.
And lemony fresh!

I recently purchased a couple of sets of Gazzo (Gary Animal) cups in guild metal. It's such a striking colour when polished. With such strong aesthetic appeal, I'm wondering why so few cups are actually spun from guild metal. Is it because it's more of a challenge than spinning cups from the more popular metals like copper.

I'd also be interested in hearing what others use to polish guild metal cups with.

Fortasse

I agree, the guild metal is a great colour - it's not as bright and 'brass' as brass and has a more golden sheen to it. Like brass, the guild metal needs to be kept polished - it doesn't look good when it tarnishes.

My mini cups are the Gary Animal guild metal Golf size, and they are a nice yellow bronz color not as yellow as brass. I cleaned them and put a coat of Carnauba to keep them pretty clean, but not mirror shine. Then I spray them with mild cleaner once in a while when they get grubby. They fit snug enough that a lot of dirt will make them stick together. I agree that guild metal looks better with out a patina, but a coat of good wax adds a nice luster, aura?

Remember fresh leather monkey fist balls will blacken the cups when left inside between shows. So, maybe you could wrap new cups in leather lace to add a black antique look.

I have to say I don’t care much for a shinny set of cups. I have a fairly new set of cups and they are just now starting to “patina” (by the way this is my first introduction to this term). There are looking a bit blotchy right now. So I was happy to read that there is something I can do about it.

Thank you everyone for good advice.


Tony

My buddy took his smooth copper Sherwood cups, treated them with somthing and baked them so they are mostly dark. He can't reproduce it, but they look Mahvelous.

I think we have a sentimental spot for tarnished/old looking props that might leave spectators cold. The beauty of the cups we use is usually obscured by a dark patina. They need to look like they are metal rather than clay. Not like complex machines but like well worn tools showing signs of honest ware.

Just leave the cups on the roof a couple weeks or so, the fog and the sun will do the work for you.

FYI, in another thread, Jim Riser sounded a warning about heating up cups--he said this could potentially damage the cups.

Flimnar