Finished my project. Forced patina achieved dousing with vinegar and salt add some ammonia.....

Close up....

I thought that mixture would clean off the patina not leave it.

nice color... tell me how?

Obviously not. You enclose the items doused with vinegar and salt and set a container with ammonia in it in there as well. After several minutes vapors consume the container and what ever is in it. Add some baking soda if you really want to get things happening but hold your breath.This stuff will knock you out! After several hours, neutralize everything with distilled water and scrub with a scotch brite. Clear coat if you want. I added some transparent gold in with my  matte clear coat and like the old with the new look .Its not for everybody, I understand that......and honestly really don't care.

Its a done deal, its there for good. This process actually etches the raw steel where the chemicals react. When you remove your parts from the enclosure you'll be shocked at the amount of corosion that occurs. I went for three hours on my tank, fender and seat cowl. You use the scotch brite to knock off the the high areas from drips and whatever while enclosed. Wash it off good and let it dry. Its crazy what happens after sitting drying in the sun for an hour. Then to seal the steel from creating more rust, clear coat.Here is a close up of the top of my tank where i sprinkled baking soda on top of the vinegar/salt mixture.

You basically remove most all of the nasty corrosion while scrubbing  and rinsing with water. At first it looks like not much happened after rinsing but things rapidly change after an hour of ambiant air dry time. The clear coat really highlights the diffrent patterns and colors. Minor dings and imperfections on my tank from 1972 look like they should be there with the finish like this.Worse case scenario, if your unhappy with it.... sand everything down and start over.

Looks awesome! Great job, Robawf.