I saw in an article that an all natural pickle solution can be made
from vinagar and salt. But that article didn’t give how much of each
should be used to achieve the solution. I was wondering if anyone
knew if you can make an all natural pickle and if you can how much
of the vinagar and salt should be used. (Biggest reason I’m looking
for this is because I’m new to all of this and I’m disabled and live
on a limited income and can’t afford to buy any of the usual pickle
at this time). Thank you
Hello Kimberly, For years I have used citric acid acid for pickle.
Being the lazy sod that I am, I just grab a package of unsweetened
kool-aid at the store and add it to a half-pint of water. It lasts a
long time. Although i get kidded by friends, i still prefer grape.
All sorts of acids can be used, including lime juice and orange
juice - the problem is time. Many of the acids I tested took 1-3
days to do their work. I haven’t tried vinegar and salt together,
but I’d expect it to take a day. You might be able to speed this up
by keeping the acids warm, and acid-quenching hot metal (take
precautions if you do). Anything that works really fast (within
minutes) is going to be more harmful - there isn’t one that’s fast and safe, as far as I know.
Another options is abrasion - if there are no concave shapes, you
can easily rub off the oxidation with files or abrasive paper (not
so easy to remove glassy flux residues that way).
Yet another option is to work in fine silver, fine gold, or forging
platinum, which shouldn’t oxidise at all, and therefore don’t need
fluxing, abrading or pickling (although it’s often a good idea to
pickle and clean stuff between processes, if you have time). But
that’s a very expensive option.
I saw in an article that an all natural pickle solution can be made
from vinagar and salt. But that article didn’t give how much of each
should be used to achieve the solution. I was wondering if any one
knew if you can make an all natural pickle and if you can how much of
the vinagar and salt should be used. (Biggest reason I’m looking for
this is because I’m new to all of this and I’m disabled and live on a
limited income and can’t afford to buy any of the usual pickle at
this time). Thank you "The “usual pickle” is oftern Sparex 2. But you
can get the same chemical (sodium bisulfide) in a swimming pool
product called “pH Down” at WalMart. It’s about $10 for a large jug
of crystals you dissolve in water. Dilluted to a good pickle
strength, I’m betting it’s less expensive than many equivalent
gallons of vinegar and salt, cheap as those are. If cost is the
issue, look to pH Down.
I found out about this recipe when I ran out of regular pickle and
I’ve never gone back. I use a plastic storage dish (with a lid) and
pour in white vinegar to the depth I want (an inch or two, enough to
cover the pieces being pickled), then pour in regular table salt and
stir until it stops dissolving. That’s it! And if you forget to rinse
off copper you get a lovely blue-green patina.
I tried vinegar and salt; it didn’t work for me. But there is a
product in the canning supplies at the market called Fruit Fresh,
it’s got citric acid in it. Mix it up strong, and it works on
sterling. Did for me, anyway. Happy pickling!
I’m not as concerned with the ‘all natural’ but I sure do like
’affordable’ – so I use pH decreaser meant for swimming pools. You
can find it at Walmart for approx. $5. It comes in about a 1/2
gallon plastic jug. And it is small dry pellets. You mix several
tablespoons with several cups of distilled water (I don’t do an exact
measured mix) and into the crock pot – and voila, pickle. I’ve had
my studio for 4 years now and have not made a dent in the
container… figure that $5 investment will last for years.
I have used the Cool Tools Silver Prep pickle and found it works
quickly with Argentium & Fine Silver. Neither of those have much
issue with oxydation from the torch of course. With conventional
Sterling it is not a fast as Sparex in my experience, however it does
work. Ultimately for me it’s a commitment to minimize the use of
toxic chemistry.
I, too, saw the article on this and it said: 1 tablespoon of salt
(Morton’s iodized) to 1 cup of white vinegar. It tends to evaporate
and the salt crystallizes in fantastic structures around the edge of
the pot. Just top it off with vinegar and salt when you heat it.
Change it when it gets dirty and neutralize it with baking soda
before you dispose of it.
Sorry, but I can’t remember where I got this -I think it
was from ‘Starving Artists’ forums.