G’day again. Y’know, I have a suspicion that the aforesaid
blotches and grey appearance of sterling and low carat gold after
a vibro/tumble polish could be the dreaded firestain? We all
know that our work - even mine sometimes - looks pristine white
after a good soak in the pickle, then when one gets around to
polishing, these nasty grey scabrous patches appear. Which of
course, is the aforesaid dreaded. However, if one takes the
work out of the pickle and it looks good then, after a wash etc,
and a good tumble in the polisher and THEN it looks scabrous -
well, firestain? No? Then you throw out your liquid, wash
everything, start again… and again… like Linda said, and
eventually it looks OK - is it because you abraded off the
firestain? No? I wonder. Cheers,
This is what I have done as a last resort to get rid of
firestain- I have had the fine silver piece plated silver to
cover the firestain…Sometimes it is easier to do that than
make yourself crazy trying to polish it away…
What are you using to polish Firestain off the silver. It will
usually come off fairly quickly with a Calico mop, Tripoli
compound and a bit of determination. If you have done quite a
few soldering operations, the firestain will get thicker, but
this only amounts to a few microns thick. Richard W UK
It will usually come off fairly quickly with a Calico mop,
Tripoli compound and a bit of determination. I >>
What is a Calico mop??? Is Tripoli the same as Bobbing
Compound??? (being relatively new to polishing mechanically, I
don’t know much about the compounds to be used.) I used to file,
sand, and then finish with very fine steel wool.
What are you using to polish Firestain off the silver. It will
usually come off fairly quickly with a Calico mop, Tripoli
compound and a bit of determination. If you have done quite a
few soldering operations, the firestain will get thicker, but
this only amounts to a few microns thick. Richard W UK
Dear Richard W:
Sometimes that doesn’t work…or you end up ruining your piece
(by taking off too much silver)…As I said before as a last
result I will have a piece silver plated to hide the firestain…
Also I have purchased a couple of different products that
prevent firestain… The best one I used, I forgot the name, but
you basically dunk your piece in this solution and then set the
piece on fire (the solution burns off) and repeat the process
three times. Afterwards, you flux and solder your piece as
usual… Most jewerly supply shops carry this solution… If you
describe what it does to them I am sure they can tell you the
name…
DeDe
DeDe Sullivan
Producer
Manhattan Transfer Graphics
Tel: 212-907-1204
FAX: 212-370-9346
E Mail: @dede
A Calico mop is just a fairly course polishing mop. Made from
Calico. I = don’t know if Tripoli is the same as bobbing
compound. Tripoli is brown = in colour and has a fairly pleasant
sweet smell Richard W UK
A Calico mop is just a type of polishing/bobbing mop. It’s made
from = Calico and quite abrasive. I would then use a Swansdown
mop for finishing. This is a mop made from fine cotton with a
soft pile, very dusty!! What is bobbing compound made from?
Richard W UK
Dear DeDe, I absolutely agree. Firestain is a pain in the butt. I
agree that plating is a good idea. I don’t know what the
solution is that you use. The only product I know of in the UK
that tries to deal with firestain is Argotect from Johnson
Matthey. They should have offices in The US. Have a look at
their web page. Richard W UK
I can only guess at what a Calico Mop is, but Bobbing
Compound is coarser than Tripoli.
I usually use Bobbing Compound, and that doesn’t always get rid
of the grey blotches!!! I follow up with zam (I’ve ordered
fabuluster- but haven’t tried that yet!)
A Calico mop is just a fairly course polishing mop. Made from
Calico. I = don't know if Tripoli is the same as bobbing
compound. Tripoli is brown = in colour and has a fairly pleasant
sweet smell Richard W UK
Bobbing compound is a bit coarser than tripoli and the binder is
supposed to cling to brushes a bit better.