This is my favorite step.



After the two sections are formed and attached, the next step is to clean the bottle opener. This consists of using the Dremel grinder and the mini files to grind off welding slag. Try not to use the grinder and files on too much of the bottle opener since it will take out the small dings and dents of hammer blows. If you chose not weld the two sections together, you will probably not need to do any cleaning since a majority of it was taking off welding slag.



As with any art, the artist should sign the work somehow. I chose to inscribe the small symbol as my signature on the bottom of each of the bottle openers. The Dremel grinding wheel was nice for creating the small lines in the signature.



Now the bottle opener is ready for the finish. I chose to finish it with a thin brass coating. In order to coat it with brass, it must be hot enough to melt the brass, but not hot enough to burn the brass. Since the forge easily gets hot enough to burn the brass, I used a propane torch to heat the bottle opener while it was clamped in the vise. This avoided the risk of burning off a previously completed finish. I recommend finishing one half of the bottle opener at a time.



Now is where the brass brush comes into play. Clamp the bottle opener in the vise and pass the blue flame of the propane torch over it for about 30 seconds or so. Grab the other end of the bottle opener with the tongs and release it from the vise. Scrub the hot end with the brass brush for about a minute or two. You should start to see the metal picking up a slightly golden finish. Make sure to scrub the top and the bottom, along with both sides. Once you are satisfied with the finish, quench that half in a bucket of water, and repeat the process with the other half of the bottle opener.



