How to Rust Primitive Bells, Safety Pins, or Other Tin Items
I am going to share a primitive rust recipe of my own creation that works well for me, and doesn’t leave a toxic concoction that is hard to dispose of afterwards. First, place your items to be rusted into a container that has a lid – I use an empty glass candle jar. Pour enough bleach into the container to cover the items you are rusting, and then put the lid on. Let it sit like this for about 24 hours. I then drain the bleach into the toilet (get a second use out of it as a disinfectant!), leaving the metal items still damp in the jar. Next cover them with cider vinegar and add in a healthy dose of salt. Cover again, and let sit overnight. Pour the used vinegar down the drain (you can also get a second use of this as a drain unclogger if it follows a dose of baking soda), leaving the damp bells/safety pins/what have you in the jar. Put the jar out in the sun to dry, uncovered, and the metal items in it will rust as they dry.
April 14th, 2008 at 10:31 pm
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April 15th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
Thank you! I am flattered.
April 17th, 2008 at 2:15 pm
Thanks for the rusting tips! I have never rusted any metal for my crafts ~ at least not intentionally!
April 20th, 2008 at 10:07 pm
Thank you so much for the safe rusting tips. I have always wanted to try this, but some of the other tips online had me a bit scared to try it, due to the ingredients. I can’t wait to try this out!
April 21st, 2008 at 3:51 pm
Lana – You’re welcome! I just tried rusting items myself for the first time recently.
Lisa – I felt the same way until I gave this method a try! I was too afraid to have nowhere to dispose of the toxic leftovers afterwards. Fortunately this idea worked for me.
June 6th, 2008 at 1:18 am
Thanks for the tip! I had always used that TOXIC recipe and gave up on it for the very same reasons everyone else has avoided it! It is too hard to dispose of.
One question for you if you dont mind. Does it matter what type of metal you are trying to rust? or does it have to be tin? I have always understood and I may very well be wrong here, but rusting certain metals is impossible, is that true? What kinds of bells are you purchasing to rust?
Thanks,
Heather
June 6th, 2008 at 12:17 pm
Heather – You’re welcome! I have only used this recipe on tin craft items so far. If you are trying to rust jingle bells, buy a package of silver tin jingle bells from a craft store (the less expensive, the better – the cheaper ones rust easier). If you were to try rusting a metal like galvanized steel instead of tin with this recipe it would probably just give the item a weatherbeaten “white rust” sort of look instead.
November 24th, 2008 at 10:30 am
i was so glad when i found your recipe, because buying rusted bells is such an expense!
however, i have tried this, using cheap, store-bought silver bells, and it has not produced any rusting reaction for me. any ideas or suggestions on what i could be doing wrong?
any help would be much appreciated!
kristen
November 24th, 2008 at 11:01 am
Kristen – It’s hard for me to say, but my guess would be that the bells weren’t cheap enough. The more expensive bells can be plated and therefore much more difficult to impossible to rust. What do your bells look like after completing the process?
November 24th, 2008 at 11:05 am
they were the cheapest bells i could find at michael’s…lol. about 1.99 a bag. the bells still look silver, and they are covered in salt. i did not want to rinse them after decanting the liquid…
ugh. i appreciate you sharing…perhaps i will try again…it really is highway robbery for what suppliers charge for 12 little bells…
November 25th, 2008 at 10:46 am
Kristen – Next time try looking in a dollar store for cheaper bells, they will rust a lot easier. You can probably still get your bells to rust too by repeating the process (and if you’re not in a rush, increase the soaking times for each step).
November 27th, 2008 at 11:32 am
thanks again!
one last question: how important is placing the bells in the sun to dry? i live in the northeast, where there is little sun these days…
happy holidays!
November 28th, 2008 at 10:51 am
Kristen – Good question. I have exclusively dried my items in the sun, so unfortunately that is all I have experience with. I’m not sure what your results would be if you tried something else.
January 9th, 2009 at 4:41 pm
Thank you for sharing your techniques.
Connie
January 9th, 2009 at 6:34 pm
You’re welcome, Connie!
April 7th, 2009 at 4:07 am
ttttttttttyyyyyyy no one ever wants to share anything in the craft world i need all the help i can get anymore tips send my way im interested in prim stuff for scrapbooking tttuyu
April 7th, 2009 at 1:04 pm
You are very welcome, Marie! I haven’t tried scrapbooking myself, but if I ever do I shall let you know.
August 22nd, 2009 at 10:00 pm
Hello everyone, I just want it to share, that i had rusted many bells sucessfully by placing them in a plastic container with white vinegar for a couple of days (2-4) I drain the vinegar and let it dry and so far they rust just fine.
August 26th, 2009 at 9:05 pm
Thanks, Ninoska – I will have to give that method a try too!
September 8th, 2009 at 8:18 pm
can you get tetnus from these rusted nails?
November 15th, 2009 at 3:39 am
Please be careful around rust. It is Very Dangerous
for your eyes. I worked for ophthalmologists
before I retired.
November 15th, 2009 at 8:33 pm
Lynda – If you puncture your skin with them it might be possible.
Marta – Thank you for the warning!
December 18th, 2009 at 3:49 pm
Thank you all. For all the tips on rustying bells.
December 28th, 2009 at 10:00 pm
Do you purchase your safety pins at the dollar store as well? I bought some from JoAnn’s but just checked by jar and only bells look to be rusting so far. Found those at walmart I think. I wish I had found your site before I tried the other solution too!
December 31st, 2009 at 2:27 pm
Melissa – You are very welcome!
Kim – Yes, the safety pins need to be cheap as well. The more expensive ones have a plating on them that makes them hard to rust.
February 27th, 2010 at 1:42 am
The pins and bells can be dryed in the oven after soaking. I to can not always wait for the sun. . .just dry then single layered on a cookie sheet on low for acouple hours.They will rust alot as they dry.