Tagging onto this thread. I just received the blackened brass version for my M11-D this week. It got me to thinking about the chemicals used to darken brass to this level and how they are toxic while applying them and also afterward when dried unless thoroughly rinsed. Further research seems to say that if the final product is to be in continual contact with skin (jewelry, etc.), then a final wash in a mixture of baking soda and water is required to neutralize the remaining chemicals in the finish.
I've had some back and forth with the owner, and it sounds like another person ("artist") does the blackening and says it's completely safe. But I couldn't get a straight answer as to what chemicals were used to do the blackening. I did get confirmation that they only used water to rinse off the darkening agent.
So what I did to make myself feel better: I mixed up some baking soda and water in a Ziplock at about 1 parts baking soda three parts water, put the product in there and gave it good shake bath. Outside while wearing vinyl gloves, I opened the bag and scrubbed on the grip with my fingers as best I could while moving the lever back and forth to make sure the bath got into all the cracks. I then gave it a final rinse of water using a water spigot outside.
The resulting finish is the same grey, but the brass surface doesn't have that powdery feel it did when I first received it. The finish is much thinner now. I have a feeling the original "Brass Black" chemicals were lingering in the finish, and the baking soda and water removed them. The felt protective strips didn't seem affected by the bath.
Since there seems to be no downside to the baking soda and water wash, I encourage those that own this product to do so. "Brass Black" chemicals are extremely toxic, we're talking vision loss if it gets rubbed into your eyes, etc. It's worth noting that silver finish can also be obtained by using similar toxic chemicals, so unless you bought the unfinished bare brass version, I would wash the silver one, too.
Oct 30, 2024 at 02:12 PM
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