I have some old silver enameling foil which has tarnished around the
edges tucked away for many years (20+) in its original packaging .
Is it possible to pickle it while still keeping it intact?
Janet in Jerusalem
Hallo Janet,
If you are going to use the foil for enamelling there is no need to
pickle it, (in fact I think that would be a hazardous operation!)
Just adhere to the enamel surface and fire as usual to fuse, before
applying transparent enamels over later. Jenny Gore
Don’t pickle it- when put in the kiln the tarnish will disappear.
why would you want to risk your work with tainted materials? 1.
Cut the edges off and put them in the scrap box. Test the part that
looks ok before going ahead with anything whose outcome you need to
control ( maybe the tarnish will give you an interesting effect you
weren’t anticipating? ). Or 2. Put the whole mess in the scrap box
and invest the $35(?) dollars it would take to replace it. I don’t
know how much you value your time, but I have certainly learned that
trying to fix a problem is WAY less effective or efficient than doing
it right. Something repaired in enamels generally looks that way.
Marianne Hunter