My 5 year EDC solid brass looks nothing like this. Mine is mostly just a dull brass color. I think it receives a certain polish because I always carry it in my 5th pocket.

The zippo pocket

Probably the amount of copper within the brass. More copper = more patina. Less protective coating can also cause patina faster. And where you use it also has an impact.

That can’t be accurate for Zippos as they’re all the same lol I think it’s clear OP is asking about the photograph. I believe it’s truly down to different oils, look at how dirty this guys hands are, he must work in a dirty field thus accumulating different types of oils than just finger oils. Ultimately, no I don’t think without an intentional forced patina (even those are with the wind) you’ll be able to dictate it too much. I plan on shipwrecking a zippo sometime soon so that’ll be a neat patina.

I agree, the more oils that are on my hands and the more heat they get, the more colorful patina shows up. Sometimes I’ll throw it up on the dash board on a hot day to see the colors I can get.

I think the oil is only a binder, the salts and metal- oxides react with the steel and make the patina. Wood finishes use oil carriers but iron-oxide pigment produces the color. Which is why unvarnished stain can darken over time.

Oh and the color is AMAZING!! If I got that color on my Zippo I would permanently showcase it 😁👍

We have the exact same zippo! Mine just has an electric arc lighter inside. And yeah, the patina developing on mine just looks like a smudged grey. I'd much prefer yours.

I cheated and used flitz on my brass zippo, it now looks like all the colors of the rainbow

Any patina can be simulated. With a zippo you can coat them or dip them in enamel paint or use thermal inks. You can apply liquid mask or wax on moving parts and the inside to keep paint off. I did patina’s often for MBI/DanburyMint. They make collectible objet Duarte and we would make resin casts look like metal statues(new copper,old copper, gold, steel, iron etc.) MBI would then send what I painted off and hundreds of people would them copy the finish onto each cast by hand. In metal casting specifically bronze, you can apply chemicals to effect the color and finish. You can get all kinds of looks. Most of them are metal salts that are applied wet and heated or use electro plating. This zippo looks similar to ones that have been electro plated. Neodymium salt would make that finish. They used it on stainless steel body jewelry. Mostly all of these products can be toxic when using but the end result with be safe to handle.

you can force a patina like that by sanding the metal so it's bare metal, then brush with some water. douse with salt let it sit in a sealed container with an ammonia soaked paper towel. the vapors will cause it to develop a green/blue patina

So the only brass/copper that has that patina is my 2003 copper model, and it came with it. It sits in a special place and doesn’t get used—it’s straight up PURPLE.

This is a 2023, but it isn’t this vibrant in person. The lighting and angle just lined up perfect in this shot and I enhanced the photo slightly. Still one of the better patinas I’ve gotten tho.

I don’t know crap about brass and bronze. But there are brass and bronze wrist watches. And some people do forced patina on them. You can use hard boiled eggs or some shit. I think they release sulfur and that’s what quickly creates patina. Google “bronze watch force patina” and you’ll get a lot of stuff.