Connecting textured metals

Hey everyone,

Though it’s been awhile since I’ve posted anything here, I can’t
think of a better place to come for answers to my current quandary.
I’m making a pair of earrings out of Argentium and reticulated red
gold, in which the Argentium has been both texturally embossed and
then dapped, and both they and the gold elements have been both
gently annealed, and the gold elements dapped (to approximate the
curvature of the silver components, beneath them). Once this was
done, I’d pickled them both, then gone over the contact areas with a
brass brush to reveal fresh metal faces, applied medium solder to the
backs of the gold components and then both fluxed and clamped them
for soldering, just as I’ve done any number of times, when using flat
pieces… Only this time, I only got occasional contact points to
connect (with the rest of the contact zone turning black and gritty
– and remaining that way, even after quenching and pickling). The
obvious questions are

  1. Why? and 2) How can I correct and/or prevent this from happening
    again

Many thanks and Holiday greetings to all,

Doug
Douglas Turet, G.J.,
turetdesign.com

Can you post an image? This would be extremely helpful in figuring
out what your are encountering, and sorting out a solution for the
problem.

Thanks.

Michael Rogers
M. M. Rogers Design
Albuquerque NM