Greetings to the fine folks of Orchid,
I have read all the archives but still have a question.
In my workshop we work in 22 karat gold which we alloy ourselves.
A woman taking my workshop wanted to bring a richer, deeper yellow to the surface of a thick 22 karat gold chain.
We heated and pickled three times and the gold got whiter rather than yellower. My student was not happy. :0/ What did I do wrong? Looks like all the silver came to the surface rather than the gold. How can this be reversed?
Maybe it happened because;
We didn’t use the soft brass brush between each heating.
We didn’t heat the gold enough.
We used strong Pro-Craft Pickle which I believe is sodium bisulfate.
Trying to avoid using toxic chemicals.
When I studied at Jewelry Arts in NYC we did this all the time with the regular pickle and my notes say … heat and pickle three times.
Any and all help would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.
Warm regards,
Lois