Customer Reviews and Photos for:
Darkening Solution
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Average Rating:
3.8
(22 customer reviews)
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1) Submitted by
John Gray, from Effingham, IL
on 2/5/2011
Customer Rating: 
I used this product to darken the new brass hinges for my wife's Hoosier Cabinet. It did an excellent job but oil form your finger prints will show in the darkening process I solved this problem by washing the hinges with Acetone and held them with hemostats so no finger prints showed up.
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2) Submitted by
Joe from DE
on 5/21/2010
Customer Rating:
Superb results! VERY easy and safe to use. Also easy to control the darkening effect to one's taste. I highly recommend!
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3) Submitted by
Don from TX
on 11/21/2009
Customer Rating:
I had about 9 feet of 2" bright brass foot railing around my bar that was very bright. Everything in the house was oil rubbed bronze. I ordered the 32 oz. bottle and cut a length of 3" PVC in half length wise to fit the longest piece of railing to use as a dipping bath. I then bought two rubber stoppers to close off the ends (no use wasting the chemical on the inside of the pipe). The 32 oz. bottle was enough for the railing and all the hardware with about 5 oz. left over. The longer you leave it in the darker it gets. Turned out wonderful and save a lot of money by not having to order the railing in the expensive oil rubbed bronze finish. 5 stars!
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4) Submitted by
Dan Griffin, from Memphis, TN
on 9/8/2009
Customer Rating:
I have used this for years and it works wonderfuly. I do have a hint. The solution is reusable, granted that it does get weaker and takes longer, the more that it is used. After use, I place a small funnel in the top of the bottle, line it with a paper towel, and pour the used solution through it. If you haven't used all the solution and there is still some unused in the original bottle, you might want to pour the used into a different bottle, but be sure to label it carefully.
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5) Submitted by
Jen, from Stamford, CT
on 5/27/2009
Customer Rating:
I was anxious---but it worked perfect!
I wanted to give my master bathroom a makeover on a limited budget. I have solid brass bath fixtures that were naturally aging and solid brass accessories --knobs, handles, towel bars, toilet paper holder and hooks, all very polished, and therefore, in my opinion, ugly. These are high end pieces, just not my style. I decided to strip them with laquer stripper--approximately 5 minutes of rub time with a stripping pad after soaking them in the solution for several hours. (some pieces stripped quite easily in only seconds and with minimal pad work, others took multiple soaking/rubbing sessions). Finally, I washed and dried the pieces then placed them in the bucket w/ the darkening solution which instantly began to "age" them. It was remarkable. I chose a very dark, almost black patina, which only took a few minutes, pulled them out, rinsed and polished them w/furniture wax. Turned out beautiful! My husband was amazed. The brass shower handle alone would have cost over $200 to replace, so I was quite thrilled to pay only $40 in materials, a little time and elbow grease. BTW, I also went back stripped and darkened the already aging fixtures a bit more, using the same process only brushing on materials carefully, so i would not have to remove them. The shower door hinges were the only really challenging pieces due to the many nooks and crannies making laquer removal difficult. I brushed on the darkening solution in several steps over about a 30 min period until it reached a nice, dark, aged patina, then waxed/polished to shine. It all looks beautiful.
One word of caution--work in well ventilated and lit area to remove the laquer; it is difficult to see in the crevices and if it is not COMPLETELY removed you will have specs or complete crevices that are highly polished brass!
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6) Submitted by
Mary, from Kearney, NE
on 11/22/2008
Customer Rating:
The product does what it says, but we were darkening kitchen hinges to match new pulls on cupboards. Sanding was necessary of each little hinge before the solution could work, so the process was not really easy! I wish then I had thought to soak them in lacquer thinner as another review that I just read suggests. That probably would have simplified the process dramatically!!
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7) Submitted by
Jonathan, from Nashua, NH
on 11/14/2008
Customer Rating:
I recently replaced a screen door but could not find one with oil-rubbed bronze hardware in the right size. So I bought an Andersen 2000 door with solid brass hardware, softened the lacquer in lacquer thinner and then removed it with a Scotchbrite pad.
After about 2 minutes of soaking in the brass darkener, I had a beautiful dark brass finish, which I then rubbed down with some mineral oil. It looks great.
By the way, the door sweep was plated so I couldn't use this, so I matched the door sweep with several thin coats of Rustoleum Oil Rubbed Bronze paint. Purchased at a home center, it is a decent (90%) match to the treated hardware.
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8) Submitted by
Jack Gale, from Essex, MA
on 9/2/2010
Customer Rating:
I needed to age and darken a new brass railing and read about various chemicals etc , thinking I should be able to find something inexpensive and easy to use. Finally I gave up on finding the ingredients for a homemade solution - too much research and time - and I just ordered this stuff from Rockler. It came within a couple of days, I tried it, and it worked fine. I used the 8 oz size for about 17 ft of railing and posts and had a little left over. I couldn't dip it so I simply painted it on until the brass reached the color I wanted.
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9) Submitted by
Billybob Karl, from San Francisco, CA
on 7/28/2008
Customer Rating:
I have used this solution before but could not find it in hardware stores. I am glad I found it here. Thanks!
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10) Submitted by
Tim Erskine, from Vicksburg, MS
on 6/10/2008
Customer Rating:
Good service & good product.
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11) Submitted by
Dan Krautheim, from Beaufort, NC
on 3/23/2008
Customer Rating:
Used the solution to darken some bright brass hinges to match oil rubbed bronze handles. Product worked well and fast.
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12) Submitted by
Brett, from Severna Park, MD
on 1/28/2008
Customer Rating:
Product worked well. I had an oil-rubbed bronze sink that had some electrolysis occur causing one spot to be copper-colored. I put solution on a paper towel and allowed it to stay on copper colored spot until color matched oil rubbed bronze. In a few minutes, it did and I rinsed off and it looks great!
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13) Submitted by
Diane Arpino, from Westmont, IL
on 7/18/2008
Customer Rating: 
This product did not work for me. In fact, now I have dark black patches in my oil rubbed bronze sink. In fact, my sink looks worse than before so now it needs to be replaced. Very disappointed.
Editor's note: This product is not recommend for plated surfaces. Oil rubbed bronze would fall under this type of surface.
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14) Submitted by
Susan Gaffney, from Irvine, CA
on 5/23/2008
Customer Rating:
Unfortunately, it didn't work for me. I have some oil rubbed bronze faucets in the bath...the finish had been almost completely taken off by improper cleaning solutions. I thought this product would darken the copper color enough to avoid replacing them. I soaked some paper towels and left on the faucets for a long time, but the faint darker color was uneven and rubbed of easily.
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15) Submitted by
Monica from CA
on 4/14/2010
Customer Rating:
Worked very well! Thank you!
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16) Submitted by
Camille Vizzavona, from Los Angeles, CA
on 12/26/2007
Customer Rating:
Perfect and fast. I bought another brand from another site that was not good at all.
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17) Submitted by
D J, from Annapolis, MARYLAND
on 10/14/2007
Customer Rating:
I have found none better than this. Extremely easy to use and quite fast when used straight.
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18) Submitted by
Mary, from Ridgecrest, CA
on 2/15/2009
Customer Rating:
I have two darkened copper sinks. The one that is used the most often got lighter with use than the other sink. The darkening solution did not help darken the lighter copper sink. It didn't work for me.
Editor's note: As sinks are subject to cleaning and chemical substances on a regualr basis this darkening solution would not be recommended for such an application. The item being darkened needs to be submersed in the solution until the desired darkness is achieved and then the itme needs to be lacquered to keep the shade of darkness.
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19) Submitted by
Linda Papendick, from Rapid City, SD
on 9/14/2009
Customer Rating:
I had poor results with this product. I returned it the very next day and was only refunded for the purchase price meaning I paid shipping and handling for it to come to me and shipping to return it. Bummer.
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20) Submitted by
Rhonda, from Nashville, TN
on 3/29/2010
Customer Rating:
I bought this product to darken my solid brass hardware on my kitchen cabinets. I had some extra unused solid brass pulls still in the original packaging. I decided to use one of those to test the solution out. Well, I can honestly say. I wasted my $. I soaked it for 4-5 hours. I got no color change at all. The pulls were solid brass and did not have and lacquer on them at all.
Editor's note: We wish we didn't have to tell you this Rhonda, but there is no doubt that if no color change occurred then either the pulls are plated rather than solid brass, or else they are indeed clear coated with a protective coating that is preventing oxidation.
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21) Submitted by
Dianna, from Kansas City, MO
on 7/9/2010
Customer Rating:
I tried this on the brass handles to my kitchen cabinets and did not get expected results. It turned them more copper color than an antiqued brass look.
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22) Submitted by
Jerry C, from St. Louis, MO
on 6/20/2006
This solution works great! it will turn bare brass dark in a very short time. It can be diluted to slow the effect.
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