Black patina on sterling near bronze

Jewelry Discussion
1

I have a design which uses a small bronze round ball on sterling. I carefully paint black max on the sterling. The area near the bronze ball becomes the familiar blue/green. Curious why?

1 Like
2

it is reacting to the nearby bronze.

3

Thanks - I guessed that. Any suggestions on controlling it?

4

Hi Carol,

Have you tried using a resist on the bronze such as Sharpie or Dykem? Dykem can be easily and accurately applied with a small brush. It may be that enough of the Black Max is making contact with the bronze, possibly when you’re rinsing off your piece? Once the Black Max is rinsed off and the work is dried the resist can easily be removed using denatured alcohol with no effect to the patinated area.

Pam

2 Likes
5

Thanks for the response. I wasn’t rinsing it off - after black max. Maybe that would work - I only put wax on it shortly after it dries. I had painted it on so carefully - so it did not touch. Guess it was just the atmosphere. The bronze is so close to the black max surface- that I wouldn’t be able to remove anything - it’s a casting bead / round shape.