I'm working on a project where I need to create a rusty patina on pieces of raw, mild steel. What's your favorite technique for the fastest way to get that rusty glow?

some type of acid.... IIRC the POR-15 metal ready will do it. I have cleaned and etched parts that I was not ready to paint and they began to rust in a few days. Or if you leave the metal ready on too long and it dries.

Guess that is why POR stands for Paint Over Rust.

hydrochloric acid. prob overkill.

Hardware store muriatic acid. Use carefully.

Wipe it down with apple cider vinegar

Way too safe.

True. I have a gallon of acid in the workshop but that means gloves, don't let the dog walk on the driveway, ect

How about plain ole H2O after exposing bare metal & leave it out overnight or 24-48 hours!?

That's always worked for me when I forget to treat some part after cleaning it up!

But for the life of me, I can't understand why anyone would WANT to do so on purpose!?

Of course I'm NOT a fan of this stooopid supposedly "Barn Find" trend exulting poorly cared for & improperly stored vehicles anyway, & hate those who are dishonest enough to try to create one to pass it off as something worth more!!

And I'm not saying that you are Marc, before the wankers chime in with accusations on me for it!

I know of one guy who found a decent condition 73 914 DD with 70k+/- on the odo reading - & probably +100-200k in turn-overs - who ran his shop vac in reverse to dusty it up, then tried to flip it as a true stored 70k-ish "barn find" (I'd seen it FS where he got it). So I blew the whistle on the putz when I called him on it & he denied it & claimed accurate mileage & storage since late 70's, for which that dealer had his CA dealer's license yanked + fines! Idiot!!!!

Cheers & good luck on the rust-up!
Tom
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Lemon juice works in seconds.. Kind of funny that someone is talking about adding rust on a 914 forum. Ironic

http://www.sculptnouveau.com has acid that we use for rusting patina work

Back in the day my parents had an antique's business, where they did a lot of "antiquing". Meaning they made new things look old. I worked one summer and was in charge of pigs. They got pigs from China, shiny painted metal pigs. I had a cat-o-ninetails made out of chain. I would beat the pigs while spraying them with saltwater, it worked very fast and looked very patined very fast. We would then use a dark wax to age the remaining paint.

Water / hydrogen peroxide / salt / vinegar... spray on, + oxygen = RUST

Toss it in the hellhole area for a couple days.

Put a 914 emblem on it and wait a few minutes.....

The irony hasn't escaped me.

Lots of good ideas here, thanks.

I wondered how long it would take for the peanut gallery to chime in.

Based on your history with other projects my advice is to put it on your "To Do List", then set it outside .

Just be prepared to buy more steel when it has totally vanished!

There's two kinds of people in this world: those who talk about procrastination and those who do it....I'm a doer.

Right! When you find the time to procrastinate.