Looking for suggestions on how to fix (fill and smooth) the small pot hole flaws in these one-off brass castings?
(total noob here…)
Thank you!
Similar material- maybe from your sprues, filings, fluxed and matching color solder.
Heat mostly from underneath, then at the top. I have had some weird casting pits before that filled that way, but they were sterling or yellow gold. The pitting issues i had when i farmed out my casting because of a time crunch.
If you could find a matching wire to work with, that’s a bit better. Embed powdered metal, then chips from your sprues or wire laid in the direction of the crack. When its above the plane of the final surface, file and polish.
If you only heat the piece from the top, the solder will want to pull out of the repair and flood the surface.
A laser would do some good, but you still need supplementary metal.
Good luck
Send pictures of how the repair looks when it’s complete.
Eileen
Thanks, Eileen!
Unfortunately I dont have any of the same material (casting was farmed out). I have some copper soldering paste. Would that work at all, or would it be a different color than the brass?
It will probably be a bit if a different color. Why don’t you contact your caster. I’m sure they could send a small but if material for your (their) repair. Also heating brass or bronze and pickling it afterwards can often alter the color towards the orange hues - not the goldish yellow that you are wanting. You’ll have to manually polish that out probably. My student runs into that issue and it drives her MAD.
Eileen
I would drill the hole out so it’s clean and shove a piece of wire of the same diameter into the drill hole, then solder in place and file/sand/polish. So yeah, you’ll need some extra material and the correct solder.
1 Like
That’s a better idea than mine!
Just leave it as it is!
One thing is for sure. There are people out there that will love this look.
It is possible that the pit is deeper and you would be chasing your tail going after it.
Using a polished flat iron could move the metal over the gap and ´hide’ it but it could also open it up even more. You don’t know what is under the surface and you could end up with worse.
Your ring has a rough character and the texture kind of goes with the accidental pitted style. Instead of wasting your time, especially if you are not experienced. Just go ahead and make a new one and look out for bubbles, pop them, and learn.
Best of luck,
Sædís
I agree with MJB, drill hole & plug with a brass rod u can get at hardware or big box store.
Btw, lots of brass in the US has been recycled numerous times meaning if the alloy is correct the color will be very close doubt anyone would spot it.
Good luck,
Kent
hi,
a thought… cast the caster…inquire if they have a laser and if they can repair the casting for you
julie