Taking the Bright Out of Brass Beads

[TaB]

Does anyone have a suggestion on how to "dull" brass beads? The brightness of the beads is sometimes a good thing and other times, like right now, it seems to scatter fish. I have considered several acid baths, but not sure of the chemistry with brass. If any one as a suggestion for a tarnished finish to the brass?

[Kaboom1]

Maybe a black sharpie?

Brad

[Uncle Jesse]

Black or brown nail polish will work. Dollar Tree frequently has these "off" colors. Remember to clean the hook eyes.

[ScottP]

The Sharpie sounds like a good quick-and-dirty method if you want it dark; not sure how long it would hold up. Patinas for stained glass (nasty stuff) and gun bluing solution would be a bit more durable. If you're just looking to take the shine off, how about vinegar or Palmolive dishwashing soap (apparently the sulphur in it does a great job of dulling brass).Regards,Scott

[Allan]

I like Kaboom's suggestion. You can always remove the marker easily. For example, just carry an alcohol wipe. That way you can get the bead shiney in a second if you want.

[Bugsy]

Just buy plain brass, unplated beads. They still sell them. If they haven't tarnished enough by the time you wish to use them, you can choose from a number of methods for advance aging brass.

Re: plated beads...
On a large item, it wouldn't be too hard to dull the finish (or remove it entirely) with an abrasive polishing agent. Not practical with small beads. Instead, I'd say you're on the right path with a chemical treatment. My first thought is an etching solution. A cheaper alternative (free if ya got it!) would be oven cleaner. I'd put a few beads in a sealable can, hit it with oven cleaner, close it up and put it out in the sun for a while.

[ducksterman]

Powder Paint

[Buddy Sanders]

If you want to tie the flies with dull beads, then any of the many chemical solutions will work..gun blue, oven cleaner, acids, coatings of various types (I'd use clear head cement with some baking powder in it to flatten it). OR, you can buy black beads. The ones from Larva Lace are a 'matte' finish and I really like them myself.

For 'on the water' use, the sharpie is the simplest. But, I prefer brown or green rather than black. The bead will still shine, but the color dampens the flash a bit.

[tigfly]

I seem to remember that vinegar bath works to dull them.

[Allan]

I'm guessing that all of the above suggestions will work but probably not efficiently. Now maybe I'm misinterpreting the initial question, but TaB seems to be asking about something he can do on the stream in line with conditions. In fact he wrote, "The brightness of the beads is sometimes a good thing and other times, like right now(my emphasis), it seems to scatter fish." So it appears he's looking for a way to dull the brightness at a moments notice. Then, as conditions change, bring back the brightness. I'm not sure that he's looking to carry a quantity of the same flies with beads of different brightness though. Maybe he'll respond and clarify.