Changing the color of brass

Smoke & Recoil said:
Well, I'm at it again, only this time I'm going organic. I have 10 pieces of brass
soaking in oak leaves and oak bark, going for a tannin tarnish, like finding brass
in the wild from days gone by.

The idea came from my metal detecting hobby, I have found many spent brass
that had/have the dark color which replicates the look of my previously posted
artificial coloring attempts.

This, I think will be interesting...days, weeks, months, maybe even years, who knows.
Click to expand...
Well if that's good British brass consider coloring it with some good tea. ;)

I would like to see the results when you have them.
 
I've used sharpies for years now, to indicate load intensity of different cartridges. Different colors for plinkers, average, and upper end loads. I just circle the primer groove with the chosen color, and just a glance in the open box lets me know which loads I've chosen.
The bonus is, it all comes off in the tumbler in prep. for the next reload session.
Yes, I do clean my brass every time it is reloaded.
Using chemicals on brass without knowing any adverse effects, would worry me a little.
The only thing I've tried at one time was "Brass Black" made specifically for brass application, but mostly for model building etc. I have used it to dull the brass on muzzle loaders in times past.
 
Update

This is an update on my project.
So far, I have left the brass soak in the water containing oak bark and leaves, the brass is now showing signs of a green tint.

Yesterday, 4/24/22, I transferred the brass into a container containing top soil
from the forest of Mother Earth along with the bark and leaves...then moistened the mixture, to allow oxygen to enter the parade.

It's kinda funny, a lot of people strive for shiny, but my desire is for tarnished
32-20 converted brass.

Stay tuned.
 
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