How do I turn copper & brass green?
Can I use lemon juice or vinegar & salt? I've heard you can use these, but I want the pieces to turn quite quickly. Has anyone got any ideas? Many thanks!
PS I want the outcome to be a nice green patina so the piece looks old & worn.
Update:With the ammonia, can I use cleaning fluid? Lol, sorry, i'm very new to this & wanted to try it out 
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Comments
spread some sulferic acid on them, if you can get some industrial grade flux that will do it quite nicely, turning copper and brass green is a matter of oxidizing it, so first i recommend running something abrasive along it, like a steel wool pad (a lot of factories and such put a anti-oxidizing coating on brass and copper products), after that soak it in any acidic compound, if you have diluted sulferic acid, thats the best... after you've dipped it, take it out and leave it sit in open air for a while and presto.. green.
Yes i assume you want to age it.Firstly make sure there is no laquer or polish on the item.Get a cardboard box that you can seal with your item in it.Get some Ammonia in a glass or cup & leave this in the box with your item.Its best to leave it overnight.In the morning it will be an Antique Green colour.
ps.This can be smelly so try to leave in a garage or on a balcony.
mix some acrylic paint darkish green-to olive green colour and paint it on whilst still wet rub off with a cloth to leave the paint in folds and crevices. Alternatively put the item into a bag of damp peat, try a sample piece. the peat is very mild acid. another get a tin of plumbers flux and paint it on where you want the effect leave it to dry then wipe down.
sulfer dioxide, the old buildings were turned green from the sulfer polution from burning of coal, , the green color is called a patina, the old masters would use horse piss
Rub them in salt water and leave them for a day or two.
This will cause them to corrode - hence the greeny coating
yoghurt does the trick great and is easier to get hold of that the rest of the things mentioned so far, although they probably work too...
Greek natural yoghurt is the best... Good luck
To get a more natural look, simply leave it outside.
an old sheet metal worker told me horse urine does the trick
use ammonia or a poor mans substitute ..urine