RNT is selling Paul Fox mini cups in copper black Oxide, they look beautiful and I wish I could afford them. I wonder if the black oxide will ever fade if used a lot? RNT does great cups!

The black oxide finish is durable from what I have seen of it.

They should hold up as well as any other form of chrome plating.

I agree. These cups do indeed look beautiful. Here I am trying to thin out my collection and then Donnie goes and adds something like this to his line!

Hi Keith,
Black Oxide is a chemical process that chemically changes the surface of the copper to copper oxide which appears black. It takes us about 5 to 7 passes through the bath to get it dark enough to be black. It's real labor intensive.
Black Oxide alone is high maintenance to keep it looking good (requires waxing or oiling) so we apply a multi-phase clear coat finish over it. The color of the copper oxide won't change under the clear coat. To clean the clear coat, all you have to do is wash the cups in the sink, or wipe them with Windex.
And always, if you ever had a problem with the finish, I can fix it for you.

There you go!

So, does black oxide ever get patina?

It very slowly turns white with age.

Just kidding.

No, I don't think so.

Heeee....
sorry I couldn't resist writing... that's very funny Bill.

Hi Keith,
Not our Black Oxide finish. The clear coat keeps the surface of the metal from any contact with oxygen.
IF the black oxide finish was not clear coated, you wouldn't want it. It is too much trouble to maintain and is not a glossy finish.

I guess the closest simple example I can give is this. A clear coat finish is equivalent to applying clear nail polish to your cups. If you were to polish your copper cups to a mirror shine and then coat them entirely with clear nail polish, they would never patina, would always look polished and would only need to be cleaned by washing them with water or wiping them with a simple glass cleaner.

Is this something akin to Parkerization?

I think it's fair to compare the two. Parkerization (from what I understand of it) though is actually bonding zinc phosphates to steel, whereas black oxide is actually changing the chemical composition of the copper. I'm not that familiar with Parkerization though. I do know that one of the last remaining original Parker businesses is located here in my home town of Cleveland (Parker Rust-Proof).
I think it's easier to visualize black oxide as a patinization process that oxidizes copper so intensely that it turns it black.

I always wondered and forget to ask you Donnie.
Would a Clear Anodized finish work any better than the Clear Coat?
Have you ever experimented with it on different metals?

I don't know the entire process of Anodizing which is why I am asking.
I miss the older magipoxy finish which is now against the law to put on metal.
I know that the clear coating you use now is tough and is the same process used on brass hardware in the door industry so it has to also be durable.
Thanks all,
Mike

I don't know if the magipoxy finish is actually illegal. I wonder if this might not be one of those misinterpretations of things. I see similar processes being used to do powder coating, etc. It's just a matter of charging the metal with one polarity and charging the spray gun with the other. The charged epoxy spray goes right to the target without any more overspray than with any other epoxy finish. In fact, there may be virtually no overspray at all.

I know that some of the solvents used in these finishes are toxic, but they may be "scrubbable."

There may be states in which this finish is completely okay.

If you are doing this in an EPA approved spray booth with the proper filtering and exhausts, it might be legal.

Donnie Buckley, thank you for taking the time to explain the black oxide process. They are beautiful cups and maybe one day I will be able to buy a set.

Keep up the good work,
Keith Mitchell

Gorgeous cups!

You're welcome Keith.
Thanks fortasse.

Mike, anodizing is a process used on aluminum. Clear anodizing is an anodized finish on aluminum that has no color. Most anodizing is done with a color so a blue or red aluminum can be produced (for example). It's not applicable to copper.