How to Finish Casket Hardware

Finishing Raw Steel Casket Hardware

Some of our steel casket hardware parts are raw & unfinished. Achieve your creative look and casket styling through any number of ways to finish steel. The main reason for applying a finish is to prohibit rust (oxidation) of the surface. There are many methods and hundreds of colors you can achieve. Here are some creative ways to finish these raw steel parts.

Oil Rubbed - Perhaps the easiest DIY metal finish is oil rubbed steel. Simply rub-on, and buff to a shine. I prefer to use a pure natural oil with no solvents added like pure tung oil. Any oil will do the job including linseed oil, walnut oil, or even a petroleum oil like WD-40. Alternatively, you can thin the oil with turpentine solvent or the more natural and environmentally friendly citrus solvent. The oil finish will prohibit rust (red iron oxide) and preserve the natural matte gray steel finish. Some oils will buff to a nice shine. 

Spray Paint - There are countless colors and textures you can achieve with spray paint. You can layer colors and wipe back with a cloth to get an antique affect. Check your local hardware store or home improvement store for ideas. Here's a good article by Popular Mechanics on how to paint bare metal.  ...and another in-depth article on many different kinds of metal paint finishes by Happy DIY Home.

Electroplate - With a bit of patience and high school chemistry skills you can DIY electroplating in your workshop. Plate finishes including copper, nickel, and zinc are easy to achieve with readily available metals on a small scale. In one afternoon you could plate enough parts for one casket.

Powder Coat - Your local auto paint shop may have a small powder coat booth. Learn more about DIY powder coating at home.

Cerakote - This is a thin-film ceramic oven-cured finish available in a wide variety of colors. There are many applications for cerakote including gunsmiths, ballistic eye ware, motorcycle parts, and more. Learn more www.cerakote.com.

Gun Blue - Gun bluing is a process whereby you apply a salt solution to promote black oxides to form on the surface of steel. This process is most common to gunsmiths. There are easy wipe on, wipe off, chemical kits for touching up gun bluing that can achieve beautiful results. Your local gunsmith may have the chemical baths setup for bluing.