Since Blacken It disappeared from availability I’ve been looking for a replacement to weather white metal track links. The VMS, Mig AMMO & AK solutions are a possibility but seem very expensive at $12 to $15 for 2 to 4 oz of solution.
Decided to test Jax since its is about $28 for 16 oz.
The fumes are very nasty with this product. Definitely use outdoors and wear safety glasses & appropriate protective gloves.
Test 1 - a few drops on unwashed track links.
The product works on the metal Fruil uses for track links. Stronger solution than the old Blacken It and reaction is quicker.
Will wash and clean an assembled set of Fruil tracks in the next few days. I think the initial test was encouraging enough to try on a set of Fruils.
I plan to use Jax outside as this chemical has noxious fumes and in my opinion isn’t suited to using indoors.
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Have you ever tried vinegar or lemon juice? I have a set of Fruils for a Sheridan but haven’t played around with them yet. Seems like this subject was explored on the old site. You may want to consider rinseing with baking soda if you haven’t already, to nuetralize the acidic residue.
Good luck,
Cajun
@agincajun, thank you for the info will search the old site. I’ve not tried weathering with vinegar or lemon juice. Definitely interested in that. I’ve cleaned with white vinegar before.
I’ve been using Jax to blacken metal tracks for years, and I have never looked back at those tiny bottles of overpriced hobby brand stuff.
It’s even the same color and basic smell as Blacken-It and the other brands…
I use patina for stained glass available at any place that sells stained glass supplies. Has no discernable fumes, and although I recommend gloves when applying it, it’s not dangerously corrosive.
One thing I have noticed with the patina, though, is that Friul does have some variability between batches so some sets come out pure black and some have a dark red color to them.
