Why am I leading with a photo of a rather egregiously firestained piece? Well, it’s simple. I definitely let loose a blue streak when I took my finished (or so I thought) necklace over to the window to photograph it and noticed the firestain… but while I’m frustrated, it’s not a big deal. I’m able to recognize what it is, I know how to deal with it, and actually I’m pretty sure I even know when/how/why it happened, all because of the knowledge shared on these forums. Thanks, everyone. I rather adore you all. Now as you can see, I’ll be polishing for the foreseeable future…
If you’re up for a suggestion, think about liver of sulphur on the backing piece and then file and sand the applied piece. Use a #4 fine file lightly and then sand to desired finish. Much less work and you won’t have to worry about getting up close to the edges of the applique.
That’s pretty much how I’ve been proceeding, actually! I ended up tossing the necklace in with some Hone & Highlight ceramic media, and I’m kind of in love with the satin finish. The majority of the stain is gone, and what’s left is not nearly as visible when it’s not shiny. I’ll probably end up leaving most of it satin, darken with the LOS, and do some selective polishing. I’m actually running an experiment in my tumbler now- I took a hammer to a few pieces of the ceramic and cracked them into smaller bits, to get in closer to the edges of the appliqué.
It turned out pretty great! I really like the finish from Hone & Highlight. It’s not truly matte, to me it just looks like a piece that’s been worn and loved for decades but doesn’t take 20 years to achieve. I blackened the backs, and ended up using a steel brush to both shine and texture the appliqués. The medallions do flip over sometimes but I’ve got an idea for building some swivel fittings for future pieces like this. It’s convertible- you can wear it layered or choose just one of the pendants.
