Chemical Strawing acid

[Olle]

Originally Posted by Paladinpainter

Hey Guys, In the conversation it sounds like straw colors are applied for decorative purposes. I thought the colors were a by-product of tempering a hard piece of steel, such as a spring. Molten salts (potassium nitrate) are still used in spring making instead of an oven.

John

John,

You are correct: The color is not there for cosmetic reasons, it's a result of the heat treatment. Looks pretty darn good though.

BTW: Haven't heard from you in a while... Got anything exciting going on in the shop?