RT Bit and Spur
Elite Cafe Member
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- May 17, 2007
- Messages
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How does one polish an engraved silver or gold piece properly?
polish
- Thread starter RT Bit and Spur
- Start date
Haraga.com
~ Elite 1000 Member ~
I usually polish it before I engrave it.
there are those that use buffing and polishing motors with mandrels that accept wire wheels, muslin pads which can be charged with various polishing agents. as well as leather disks and such. i do this way differently- just by hand with a soft, clean, lint free rag, charged with simi-chrome or common brasso. polishing with power is very fast, but you can get blushed areas if not careful. you can also resort to mini polishing wheels and such that work well with a foredom outfit. lots of goodies for doing this at rio grande.com or gesswein.com. check the tips section here, not sure, but there may be info there.
very important : as above-- i forgot to mention polish before engraving. you not only endanger fine lines, the polishing compound will very likely get down in those fine lines and totally change the appearance of the lines. for a lot of the brass objects i engrave, this is actually good. not so good on most jewelry work.
very important : as above-- i forgot to mention polish before engraving. you not only endanger fine lines, the polishing compound will very likely get down in those fine lines and totally change the appearance of the lines. for a lot of the brass objects i engrave, this is actually good. not so good on most jewelry work.
Last edited:
RT Bit and Spur
Elite Cafe Member
- Joined
- May 17, 2007
- Messages
- 279
I sometimes get olde Silver bits and spurs in that are black with tarnish. Just wondering the best way to clean them.
Rod
Rod
atexascowboy2011
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- Feb 13, 2012
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Rod!
We quit poking fun at the Anglish yesterday!
So lay off with the "olde"!
Jeff
We quit poking fun at the Anglish yesterday!
So lay off with the "olde"!
Jeff
Brian Marshall
~ Elite 1000 Member ~
There are several ways to get there... but a buffing wheel is not one of them.
First, it might help if they were clean. Cow pie residue and horse slobber tend to get in the way.
If you do not have access to an ultrasonic and steamer - boil some water, add some "Spic 'n Span" or similar detergent/cleaner.
Put the items you are cleaning in the hot solution.
Let it set long enough to cool to the point at which you can keep your hand submerged. Scrub with soft bristle brush.
The black stuff is not actually "oxide", though we have all been miscalling it that for many many years. Silver oxide is greyish white, not black.
The process of purposely blackening silver with chemicals cause silver suphide to form. That is the black you see. Not silver "oxidized".
The same thing happens when silver is exposed to the elements. There are sufur compounds in the air and the liquids excreted by the animals. It gets "sulphided" and turns black.
You can remove this black by using one of the commercial tarnish removers. We used to use a product called Tarn-X when we made and hauled around a lot of silver product that discolored over time. A few 100 degree + summer days in the trunk of a car accelerates the process.
Another method is to remove it using low voltage electricity. John Flynn (Hawaii, now deceased) once did a kind of instructional tutorial on how to make the electrolytic cleaner using a wall wart and a mild electrolyte... (NOT to be confused with electro-etching)
It's late for me, and tomorrow is gonna be devoted to totaling receipts for the afternoon appointment with the tax prepper.
I'll try to find it, and some other methods that we used over the years, tomorrow in the evening.
Brian
First, it might help if they were clean. Cow pie residue and horse slobber tend to get in the way.
If you do not have access to an ultrasonic and steamer - boil some water, add some "Spic 'n Span" or similar detergent/cleaner.
Put the items you are cleaning in the hot solution.
Let it set long enough to cool to the point at which you can keep your hand submerged. Scrub with soft bristle brush.
The black stuff is not actually "oxide", though we have all been miscalling it that for many many years. Silver oxide is greyish white, not black.
The process of purposely blackening silver with chemicals cause silver suphide to form. That is the black you see. Not silver "oxidized".
The same thing happens when silver is exposed to the elements. There are sufur compounds in the air and the liquids excreted by the animals. It gets "sulphided" and turns black.
You can remove this black by using one of the commercial tarnish removers. We used to use a product called Tarn-X when we made and hauled around a lot of silver product that discolored over time. A few 100 degree + summer days in the trunk of a car accelerates the process.
Another method is to remove it using low voltage electricity. John Flynn (Hawaii, now deceased) once did a kind of instructional tutorial on how to make the electrolytic cleaner using a wall wart and a mild electrolyte... (NOT to be confused with electro-etching)
It's late for me, and tomorrow is gonna be devoted to totaling receipts for the afternoon appointment with the tax prepper.
I'll try to find it, and some other methods that we used over the years, tomorrow in the evening.
Brian
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diandwill
Elite Cafe Member
Since I have LOTS of silver jewelry, and have to use Tarn-X at least 3-4 times a year, I would love to hear about any other method, especially if its quicker. Also any applications that can slow the tarnishing down. We don't want to plate our jewelry because many prefer it to get the Silver patina. I have wondered if tumbling in charged walnut shell, which is charged with a type of wax, would do that.
Haraga.com
~ Elite 1000 Member ~
I use Hagerty's liquid. Not the spray.
diandwill
Elite Cafe Member
Haraga.com
~ Elite 1000 Member ~
Will, I'm sure you've seen the product around. They come in the baby blue cans and plastic bottles. Google them.
TyG
Elite Cafe Member
I have very good result with plain old Bi-carb of Soda, mixed with water into a thick paste. Use an old toothbrush and it will clean all the silver and engraved areas. rinse it off with water when finished. Ty.
Denny
Elite Cafe Member
The best I have found is a common orange eraser.
Brian Marshall
~ Elite 1000 Member ~
Sorry guys and gals... I didn't forget to get you some more information on the elecrolytic removal of silver tarnish.
John Flynns site has been down several years.
There is a way to go back in time and see the stuff he had on it - but sadly, how to do that is beyond me.
What it was, was a homemade ionic cleaner. Kinda like the commercial version sold as "Speed Brite".
John used a different electrolyte and maybe different voltage?
I have tried to get hold of Prakash, his wife - to see if she has any of his notes or images from 2004. Haven't heard back yet.
There were posts related to it on the Orchid forum, but I didn't see the full explanation nor the recipes.
Perhaps with enough searching on the Internet on the subject of "ionic cleaners" we (you) could reverse engineer most of it?
I don't know where mine is, it has been years since I hauled around silver jewelry to shows and such. Most of my work here of late has been in gold and platinum.
Brian
John Flynns site has been down several years.
There is a way to go back in time and see the stuff he had on it - but sadly, how to do that is beyond me.
What it was, was a homemade ionic cleaner. Kinda like the commercial version sold as "Speed Brite".
John used a different electrolyte and maybe different voltage?
I have tried to get hold of Prakash, his wife - to see if she has any of his notes or images from 2004. Haven't heard back yet.
There were posts related to it on the Orchid forum, but I didn't see the full explanation nor the recipes.
Perhaps with enough searching on the Internet on the subject of "ionic cleaners" we (you) could reverse engineer most of it?
I don't know where mine is, it has been years since I hauled around silver jewelry to shows and such. Most of my work here of late has been in gold and platinum.
Brian
l. bacon
Member
Rio Grande's Sunshine polishing cloths are the greatest for a quick clean-up polish for finished work. I then put car wax (turtle wax) on it to keep it from tarnishing. Hope this helps. Larry
Another route is fairly passive, relatively cheap, and doesn't remove any silver. It's an electrolytic action that removes the sulphides from the underlying silver by introducing a more reactive metal, aluminum.
In a Pyrex bowl or pan, put down a sheet of aluminum foil.
Place the tarnished silver on top of the aluminum foil. The silver must be in contact with the aluminum for this to work.
Pour in enough hot water to completely cover the silver objects.
Add a tablespoon or two of salt.
Add a new box of baking soda.
Stir it up a bit, and sit back and wait a while. The sulphides will migrate to the aluminum and the silver will be clean.
Good luck,
Doug
In a Pyrex bowl or pan, put down a sheet of aluminum foil.
Place the tarnished silver on top of the aluminum foil. The silver must be in contact with the aluminum for this to work.
Pour in enough hot water to completely cover the silver objects.
Add a tablespoon or two of salt.
Add a new box of baking soda.
Stir it up a bit, and sit back and wait a while. The sulphides will migrate to the aluminum and the silver will be clean.
Good luck,
Doug
Brian Marshall
~ Elite 1000 Member ~
We did a similar thing in the shop in Taxco, Mexico...
The difference being we used an aluminum bakers pan (about 2" deep), and washing soda - which is sodium carbonate - instead of baking soda.
After a coupla years we had to replace the pan as it seemed to get consumed?
Brian
The difference being we used an aluminum bakers pan (about 2" deep), and washing soda - which is sodium carbonate - instead of baking soda.
After a coupla years we had to replace the pan as it seemed to get consumed?
Brian
bdext002
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