Argentium - How to tarnish it quickly!

[Donna_Blow]

This is just to share some of my experiences this week at the bench.
While packing up some work to go to a gallery this week, I noticed
that some of the pendants I made a few weeks ago from AS were showing
spots of tarnish. In some confusion, I mentally reviewed my process -
anneal before using in the press (should have activated the tarnish
resistance… hmmm), press, anneal again, press, drill, rivet, finish
using a brass brush… (insert loud head slap here… of course,
brass contains COPPER). Okay, so no more brass brushes, only steel
for a while. Oh, and while I’m checking things… maybe using the
pickle that’s turned blue is also not a good idea. Thanks to Trevor
and Cynthia for their ongoing contributions to this list… it helped
me quickly diagnose the problem.

Donna Blow
http://dzinesbydonna.com

[Cynthia_Eid]

Hi Donna,

I seem to have returned from Haystack, in Maine, just in time to
read your interesting post. Thanks for the thanks! And thank you for
sharing an interesting situation. I think that you have done a good
analysis!

I think that the blue pickle-- containing a lot of copper-- might be
part of the problem, though my pickle is blue, too… I think that
the brass brush is possibly a problem, though I use a brass brush,
too----I always use it with soapy water as a lubricant, so that the
brass brush burnishes, rather than being abrasive, and the
lubricating soapy water helps to ensure that the brass does not rub
onto the silver. Did you use soapy water with your brass brush?

Another question, since you mention tarnish 'spots": Did you dry
the silver with a cloth, rather than let it air dry?

The other suggestion I have is to use Goddard’s Long Shine Silver
Cloth as the final finishing step. (I use the liquid form for silver
with deep textures.) Something about the chemicals in this cloth (and
liquid) enhance the protection of the germanium oxide of the
Argentium Sterling Silver. I hope this helps!

All best,
Cynthia Eid
http://www.cynthiaeid.com