Tinning brass curtain rod ball

[Marcus Mummius]

Salvete,

I want to tin a hollow brass ball from a curtain rod. The piece seems to be cast.

Does anyone know if I can heat the piece and apply tinning paste or would the ball explode?

It looks something like this:



Valete,

[PhilusEstilius]

Jef. If the ball is cast then originaly it had to be at a very high temperature to create it, what now is the question just how high is the temp' for tinning paste for if it is below that of casting then there should be no problem I'd say.
What I find myself is that when I need to do this sort of thing where I have braised somthing there is no problem such as to solder afterwards it's a simply matter of reducing temperatures.
I would think with a thing like brass that has been cast we are looking at a temp' that has been in the region of 4 figures, so I'd think tinning paste can't be so high.

[Marcus Mummius]

Thanks Brian. I think you are right. The ball is hollow and has an open hole so exploding shouldn't be an issue. The temperature needed for the tinning is indeed a lot lower than the melting temperature (or the temperature when the zinc starts sublimating). If the temperature is too high the tinning will not work anyway as there will be too much oxidation.

The trick will be getting the ball hot enough. A lot of heat will be needed for such a fairly massive object.

Vale,

[M. Demetrius]

How much does it weigh? If it's hollow, you should be able to direct a propane torch into the hole, and get a reasonably even heat all around. Tinning paste melts at a really low temp, so that alone will be quite sufficient for melting the paste. Can you rig up a stand or something to hold the ball from only the inside? Maybe from the hole you'll use to secure it from your staff? If so, you can do the whole thing in one sitting. Just bend a nail about the same size as the hole at a right angle, and secure the nail in a vise. Then the thing can be gotten all around without the need to touch any of the tinning area.

I'd suggest wiping it down with a strong solvent, like maybe lacquer thinner, since they sometimes spray things like that to prevent tarnish. Lacquer doesn't like to be hit with heat like a torch, and it's easier to take it off with solvent than flame. Just a thought. The solvent will remove oil and fingerprints, and such as that before putting the paste on. That's pretty important, I think.

[Peroni]

Shouldn't be a problem at all Jef.

The one in the photo was silvered not tinned (it was mine!) :wink:

[M. Demetrius]

Also, you might check the curtain rod end with a magnet. A lot of things that appear to be brass (at least in the US) are really cheap partly ferrous metals with a thin brass coating. Either way, if it's cast, and you get it up to tinning temp, it should hold the heat long enough to get the tinning on. Consider putting the first layer of tin stuff on before heating. You will know when you have enough heat, because it will begin to flow.

[Aurelianus]

Shouldn't be a problem at all Jef.

The one in the photo was silvered not tinned (it was mine!) :wink:

Where did you get the "ball"?