Copper visible seams

Jewelry Discussion
1

I’ve done some work with copper - all cold connections. Anybody out
there know if there’s a copper colored solder or a way to make seams
disappear? There’s an arts and crafts style project I’d like to do
and I’ve put it off for months and months because I don’t know how
to take care of visible seams. It really calls for copper
(substituting silver wouldn’t look right).

Thanks for your help!
Jeni

2

Yes, Indian Jeweler’s Supply sells it, and Rio may have it as well.

Elaine

3

Jeni,

To cover up silver solder seams on copper, take a cup full of used
pickle add a nail or piece of binding wire and throw in your copper
piece. The pickle will plate the copper and you will not even see
the join!

Cheers from Don in SOFL.

4 
 Anybody out there know if there's a copper colored solder or a way
to make seams disappear?...

I’ve seen, but yet to order this from Monsterslayer, but am tempted,
it seems to be a copper solder solution: CU-FOS-FLO #7 20 Ga wire
Hard Solder for Copper and Brass Melting Temp: 1310*F. Composition:
92.75% Copper, 7.25% Phosphorus Joint Color: Light Copper @
https://www.monsterslayer.com/Metals/Solder.aspx

If you try it, let us know?

Ed

5 
I've seen, but yet to order this from Monsterslayer, but am
tempted, it seems to be a copper solder solution: CU-FOS-FLO #7 20
Ga wire Hard Solder for Copper and Brass Melting Temp: 1310*F.
Composition: 92.75% Copper, 7.25% Phosphorus Joint Color: Light
Copper @ http://www.monsterslayer.com/Metals/Solder.aspx

I really dislike the copper solder. It is rigid and unforgiving. In
my experience it creates a brittle join. If the area being soldered
is clean and meets up perfectly, you shouldn’t have a visible join
with the silver solder once it’s cleaned up. If you want to try the
copper solder, contact me off-line – I bought a bunch of a while
back, finding myself quite intrigued. Now I’m just disappointed.
Anyone have better luck with it?

Jennie

6

Jeni - I’ll Email you directly, but I do have copper solder
available and have been using it in my own work. I enjoy working
with mixed metals and copper is one of my standards.

BBR - Sandi Graves
www.Beadstorm.com

7

There’s a solution called Super Brite Copper Patina that’s used on
stained glass solder lines. It’s available on-line and at most
stained glass shops.

http://tinyurl.com/4xlgj9

It’s very inexpensive and easy to use. May be worth a try.

Pam
Newburyport, MA

8 
Yes, Indian Jeweler's Supply sells it, and Rio may have it as well.

If this is in answer to “is there copper-colored solder?” then I’d
like to know what you mean, because if there is, it’s something new.
IJS sells “fos-flow #7”, which is the closest I’ve seen, but it
really isn’t copper-colored. It’s gray, but sometimes it seems to
take on the copper color when used. Sometimes.

Noel

9

Phos. copper is very brittle and it has a gray tint… the best color
match is 95 -5 gilding metal. This is the alloy in pre 1982 one cent
pieces except 1943 and some earlier years had the 5 % a mixture of
tin and zinc:

It is very hard to find and a lot of it is really 90 -10. Same
situation in the US and UK … You can buy a mill run or get lucky
and find an overrun. This is a traditional alloy used for copper
enameled British auto club badges… I found that this is 90- 10 in
the UK today.

10

Hi there- try this little trick to “hide” your silver solder seams in
copper— you can copper plate your seams! Just get a little bowl of
pickle and add a piece of steel…then “contaminate” plate your piece
by simply putting your piece in the solution. works like a charm.
Ciao-happy 'smithing-

Maureen BZ

11 
To cover up silver solder seams on copper, take a cup full of used
pickle add a nail or piece of binding wire and throw in your
copper piece. The pickle will plate the copper and you will not
even see the join!

Don, thanks for the tip, although I should have mentioned that I’ve
copper plated but didn’t want the plating rubbed off after heavy
use.

Jeni

12

Jeni,

Here’s a tip I learned in college for copper to copper soldering
with a minimum of a solder seam showing.

  1. treat the edges of the your solder joint by using the wide narrow
    portion of a riveting hammer. By lightly hammering the edges, you
    actually widen or planish the edge profile of the metal, very close
    to spreading a wire for a rivet.

  2. take a flat file, give one good solid file across the seam. Use a
    coarse bastard or cut 0 for this process. The file marks left behind
    create small channels for the solder to flow and a flat surface for
    maximum contact.

  3. solder the two edges together and file off the excess. By filing,
    you are moving some of the copper up and over the seam, creating a
    virtually invisible line.

I made a series of cones using this technique and after 11 years,
the solder lines are so small, they can barely be seen. This works
for brass too.

Good luck!
Karen Christians
Cleverwerx

13 
Don, thanks for the tip, although I should have mentioned that
I've copper plated but didn't want the plating rubbed off after
heavy use.

Just a thought that blew through my head-- What if you solder,
copper plate, then re-flow the solder (maybe more than once)? This
would raise the copper content of the solder seam, maybe make it less
visible. It would only take a few minutes to try this on a sample. I
seldom solder copper except as applique, so am not likely to try this
myself unless curiosity overwhelms lack of time. I bet Jim Binnion
could tell us whether it is likely to work without even doing it–
such a storehouse of theory as well as practice! Noel