Hi Guys,

Can anyone please advise on how this should be used, I know the instructions say to wash the tracks in warm soapy water & then dry & apply the blacken it.

But I thought I have also read that doing this cause's the blacken it to not work properly??

Merry Christmas & thanks to all

Cheers Mike

Wash your Friuls in anything from soapy water to alcohol; just make sure they are completely dry before using Blacken-it. Any residual soapy bubbles will prevent the Blacken-it reaction at that point and leave it bare metal. Likewise, when soaking the tracks in Blacken-it, be sure to agitate the soaking container periodically, as air bubbles trapped in nooks and crannies will also prevent proper reaction. Keep an eye on the reaction's progress; for a while nothing seems to happen, and then reaction comes quickly. Results are haphazard with gray to dark gray, mottled gray, and sometimes a dark brownish color will result. If you get a white powdery residue, no problem, it will easily brush off.

yup. I had a light brown once, after soaking for 6 hours :-/. Using the same solution Ihad a straight black the time after. It's like witchcraft to be honest.

Some suggest soaking in distilled vinegar first, then rinse well. The acid is supposed to strip the surface allowing the blacken it to attack the bare metal.

Hi Biggles,

Thank you for that I will certainly do that & see what happens!!

Hi Andy,

Thanks for that info I had also heard about the vineagar trick as well so I will also try that!!

I have also read that some people reuse it?? I thought it was a one shot weapon for want of a better term.

Cheers Mike

I concur with what Andy said in the post above; i.e. my own experiences with this solution were effectively "witchcraft" as to how they will react to it. First time I used it, the Friuls had a thorough washing, degrease and drying for a week (went on hols) in the airing cupboard and they did not even change colour in the solution. Second time, (some) went a pale orange/brown colour similar to the soft drink 'Tizer'.... and that was it.

The magazine reviewers never seem to have a problem with this chemical product so perhaps it's something I and many others I know who have tried it are doing wrong..?

Personally, nowadays I just stick with good old Halfords grey and satin black spray primers with Friuls then use MIG pigments and oil washes to get great results. Good luck with your own efforts using 'Blacken It".

Gary

Yep, re-use it buddy. It loses its potency with repeated use though.

Be careful though, it's literally poison, esp if you've got kids about mine didn't come with a child proof cap.

Hi Andy,

Thanks for that I will keep that in mind

Cheers Mike

I've had good luck with it so far. I put it in an old plastic container. I use the same solution for one set of tracks then I discard it. After a couple of uses the chemical has lost its effect mostly.

After letting the tracks soak about 10 minutes, I lift them out using a pair of tweezers and I scrub them with an old toothbrush. The scrubbing works the solution into all of the cracks and crevices. After a thorough scrub I drop them back in the solution for more soaking.

I repeat this process over about an hours time.

Hi Brent,

Thanks very much for the tip I will try scrabbing them as I go as well.

Cheers Mike