Dye on Metal - New Favorite Technique
New favorite thing - Adirondack Alcohol Inks by Tim Holtz - available through Ranger Ink (.com) Or if you want to get hold of them really cheap they are at Michael's craft stores and you can use a 40% off coupon on them, making them $2 a bottle (3 bottles to a pack).
These inks are fabulous on brass - they act like a stain, leaving the luster of the metal behind. Just drop a single drop or two on your clean metal and instant color wash. A bottle could last forever this way! Works well on plated and raw metals. Permanent, but if you want you can still seal it over with Krylon triple thick clear coat to give it extra protection and make the colors really glow.
Give it a try - the color range is fabulous from bright and bold to dusky jewel tones and a natural palate too. You can use more than one color per piece and blend them together like on the moth….bet you can see why it is a new favorite!

A couple of tips - wear gloves to avoid coloring your fingers and have a couple of cotton swabs on hand to dab off excess and spread the ink around on larger pieces. Oh and these pieces are available at our Etsy shop - just click the link at the bottom of the page - they are in the raw brass section. Thank you.