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Beacon Hill: a Garden District Mansion


KathieB

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1 hour ago, KathieB said:

Click here to see the initial verdigris test results. You won't believe which method is currently the frontrunner.

If the original flavor of tabasco sauce does such a wowser job, I wonder what the jalapeno & smoked chipotle flavors would do.  I wonder whether Crystal would work any differently from Mcilhenny's.  Hmm, you're giving me ideas...

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Nice experiment.. I feel like I'm in science class. :D
The tabasco is intriguing isn't it... I actually like all these finishes including the dull pink with spots of green created by the salt & vinegar. I'd be interested to see what would happen if you added ammonia to that. :hmm:

erm... urine??... :roflmao: *tears*

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9 hours ago, havanaholly said:

 I wonder whether Crystal would work any differently from Mcilhenny's.  Hmm, you're giving me ideas...

I got some Crystal (cheaper). The test piece isn't quite as deep a green as the McIlhenny's Tabasco, but will see how it looks after it has aged a bit. (It's a bit more watery by comparison. I don't know if that's the result of a variation in formulation or merely that the Tabasco has been in the fridge for many moons.

28 minutes ago, Samusa said:

Nice experiment.. I feel like I'm in science class. :D
The tabasco is intriguing isn't it... I actually like all these finishes including the dull pink with spots of green created by the salt & vinegar. I'd be interested to see what would happen if you added ammonia to that. :hmm:

erm... urine??... :roflmao: *tears*

I forgot to get the ammonia while I was out ... but the dull pink test patch is slowly darkening and turning more green. The trace ammonia in the window cleaner used to remove surface oils may have been enough to trigger the reaction.

 

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4 minutes ago, havanaholly said:

Considering that tabasco is red hot peppers and salt, I expect that the vinegar (or maybe even lemon juice) & salt would work.

Umm ... Holly, one of the test patches is the vinegar & salt mixture. It's working.

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8 hours ago, KathieB said:

Umm ... Holly, one of the test patches is the vinegar & salt mixture. It's working.

I realize that, it was the association that reminded me why it would work.  The tabasco result is very dramatic!

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The hot sauce ingredients listed on the label are aged hot peppers, vinegar and salt, for all of the brands I checked. It appears that the differences lie in the type(s) of peppers, degree of aging of both the peppers and the mixture, and proportion of the ingredients. 

I think the bits of pepper, although well blended, add enough body to the mix to create a relatively solid covering of verdigris, whereas the vinegar/salt mix is thinner and lets the underlying copper show through. As I look at the test patches, I'm now leaning more toward the vinegar/salt formula appearing more realistically in scale. I'll get some ammonia today and do a vinegar/salt/ammonia test next.

I need to Google some images of aged copper roofing.

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When we toured Mcilhenny's Avery Island facility they told us they made the sauce by alternating layers of packed red peppers and salt; I wonder when they add the vinegar (going off topic, wondering how they make their most excellent hot sauce...  sorry!).  If you wipe of the excess layers from the hot sauce, is there still verdigris on the foil?

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19 minutes ago, havanaholly said:

When we toured Mcilhenny's Avery Island facility they told us they made the sauce by alternating layers of packed red peppers and salt; I wonder when they add the vinegar (going off topic, wondering how they make their most excellent hot sauce...  sorry!).  If you wipe of the excess layers from the hot sauce, is there still verdigris on the foil?

I once read that they pack the peppers and salt in layers and then cover with vinegar to make the brine. 

Not sure what you mean about wiping off the excess layers of hot sauce. When the hot sauce dries, it has become the verdigris and is well stuck on. Any wiping that happens while the sauce is still wet or damp removes it entirely, leaving a bare spot.

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20 minutes ago, Minis On The Edge said:

Yep, just found it online too. Bleach is what we used in a class I took to age the copper.

 http://www.ehow.com/info_12058454_bleach-copper.html

Okay ... there's a test patch on the worktable with bleach painted on with a cotton swab. Was there a particular technique you used in class, Tracy? (Got to admit, I like the fragrance of hot sauce better.)

12 minutes ago, Beulah said:

When I did stained glass, there was a liquid specially for it, to age it to the patina look 

I used it when I had my stained glass shop, but as I recall it darkened the copper foil but did not create any verdigris. I'm going for the green. 

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2 hours ago, KathieB said:

Okay ... there's a test patch on the worktable with bleach painted on with a cotton swab. Was there a particular technique you used in class, Tracy? (Got to admit, I like the fragrance of hot sauce better.)

I bet hot sauce does smell better! We did it outside lol :) we used cotton balls wiping downward. It was not overly wet, but not dry. Another lady used a stiff old half inch wide paint brush that was mostly dry.

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8 hours ago, Minis On The Edge said:

I bet hot sauce does smell better! We did it outside lol :) we used cotton balls wiping downward. It was not overly wet, but not dry. Another lady used a stiff old half inch wide paint brush that was mostly dry.

The test patch hasn't really darkened, more like toned down. There's a subtle variation in the surface which is interesting, but there's no sign of verdigris. I'm still going for the green. 

Tracy, do you have a photo of how your project turned out? Looking at a small test patch isn't like seeing the whole magilla. 

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Double post on my blog today. Click here to see the latest verdigris test patches and then click on the Newer Post link at the bottom of the page

OR click here to see the panels in place

I'm going to use the salt/vinegar mix on it tomorrow and tent it with a plastic bag over the weekend. We'll see if I have the patience to wait until Monday for the Great Reveal! :D 

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