cleaning silver .rough chemistry

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cleaning silver .rough chemistry

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dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 44721
Location: yes

Posted: Thu Jan 09, 14 12:24 pm Post subject: cleaning silver .rough chemistry

glass dish
bicarbonate of soda
salt
aluminum foil
boiling water

1 tablespoon bi carb .1 teaspoon salt disolved in a pint of hot water
place a sq foot of foil folded in the liquor,place silver on foil .

wait a few mins and all the black silver sulphide will dissolve (ventilation is good as some h2s gas is evolved

shiney as a shiney thing after drying with a soft cloth

it wont remove copper oxide from a piece that has been heated for annealing or soldering but is ace for sulphide tarnish and does nor remove silver from the piece.

i found it on utube but it works a treat

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 44721
Location: yes

Posted: Thu Jan 09, 14 12:29 pm Post subject:
copper oxide on a piece that has been heated will come off with hcl if remelting scrap to make things it is a good idea to reduce oxides and sulphides first cos they affect the workability of the recast metal

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 16750

Posted: Fri Jan 10, 14 7:25 am Post subject:
Used to use aluminium foil, 'silver' foil out of chocolate, to clean chrome trim on bike wheels in the past. If you are using any mixture of chemicals always make sure you have good ventilation, and don't mix things like bleach and acid as they can give off very nasty things like chlorine.

tim_and_nicky

Joined: 28 Nov 2008
Posts: 261
Location: Beautiful Galicia, NW Spain

Posted: Fri Jan 10, 14 1:21 pm Post subject:
A silversmith I knew used to swear by Brasso...

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 44721
Location: yes

Posted: Fri Jan 10, 14 2:16 pm Post subject:
brasso/silvo is ok for rough stuff but it is abrasive tis also difficult to get it into /out of deep mouldings fine for flatware but a nightmare on fancy stuff or fine finishes engraving etc of the commercial stuff the dips are vgood but expensive this way can do a bag of old spoons ready for the salamander in a few minutes rather than hours

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