Pass the Ether...Vintaj Patinas Review

As a jewelry/metal arts teacher, I feel it is my obligation to try as many new products I can find that I can incorporate into my curriculum. This is one of the best parts of my job in fact, for I get to shop and play.  I discovered Vintaj Patinas while looking at cool jewelry on Pinterest. (this is another obligation of my job, and clearly another perk) I saw silver pieces that were purple, nicely distressed looking and said, "hmmm, how did they do that?

I purchased my Vintaj Patinas from Rings & Things.  www.rings-things.com They describe them as "opaque, permanent, fast drying inks".  They come in packs of 3 colors. I purchased Victorian Gable, which includes Amethyst, Marine, and Quartz.

These patinas come in a squirt bottle, the process of applying them is neat and tidy. You can squirt then use a paint brush to spread it around. I started with clean copper and silver, textured metals so the patina could sit inside the recessed areas.

For the etched Hello, I used Quartz directly from the bottle tip. For the etched stars I squirted Marine on,  then used a paint brush. For the stamped stars, I used Amethyst and just used the bottle tip to push it around.

The directions say that for added longevity you can use a heat gun to set the inks. I did not do this because the bummer of this product is that it has a warning label saying it contains Ethelene Glycol Monobutyl Ether. Unless I am getting a face peel, I'm thinking its a good idea to stay away from chemicals like this, so the thought of releasing these fumes with a heat gun did not appeal to me. Instead I let them dry overnight.
Here is a wikipedia link about the side effects of exposure to Ethelene Glycol Monobutyl Ether:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2-Butoxyethanol

To finish up these samples I got a container of water, wet/dry sandpaper and a scotch bright. It did take some muscle to rub off the inks. I think the etched stars were not deep enough so the patina started to rub away from the recessed areas. The deeply etched Hello, with her smaller spaces worked excellently, as did the stamped stars.

Then I patina'd everything in Liver of Sulfur and the inks survived the soak, they stayed totally intact.

The Hello sample looks really great, it almost looks like inlay or enamel, its so smooth and perfect. The only bummer besides the ether is that this Quartz color is so light, it is closer to white then pink.
Overall, I am impressed with this product, I think it will really withstand time and wear.  I will be purchasing these for use with my high-school kids. My samples I suspect barely scratch the surface of what you can do with them. If you are curious here is a link with more info: http://vintaj.com/
Remember to sand off when wet so this toxic dust doesn't fly around!
Happy Patina-ing...