Quick question: Does anyone know of the difference between Jax Silver Black and Ultra Blackener? They both seem to work on silver and gold, but I wonder what makes them different, and how they compare with LoS. Thanks!
Let me answer my own question: I ordered 2-oz. bottles of the two blackeners and tested them on matte-textured sterling. I applied the solutions with a brush and let it sit for a few seconds. I applied āoverstreaksā, meaning I painted some lines over the initial application to test for uniformity of color. For both blackeners the reaction was immediate and produced a deep black color, and waiting longer didnāt seem to make it any darker, so I rinsed with water and dabbed them dry. After a few minutes I gently rubbed them with a clean cotton T-shirt, which gave the original matte texture, looking lovely, with no black seen to come off onto the cloth. Both gave the same intensity of black, BUT the Ultra black did show my āoverstreaksā, while the Silver Blackener did not. The color was way more uniform. Both also gave off some iridescence at the borders of my brushstrokes, so a diluted solution might give results similar to liver of sulfur. I have not yet tried rubbing off the surface with any abrasives yet, but I also tested them on copper, and the black rubbed off into the T-shirt right away. What else? Well, Silver Blackener contains tellurium dioxide dissolved in HCl, so Iām guessing that it works by letting the TeO2 adhere to the silver, as happens in some mineral whose name I forget. The Ultra Black just says it has HCl but it obviously has something else, too. The JAX website lists the SDS for most (or maybe all) of their blackeners with the one exception of the Ultra Black. It might have selenium salts, since these also adhere to silver much like tellurium dioxide. I may report on my results after using Scotch Brite or steel wool. If youāre interested, let me know.
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Appreciate you updating us and informing us on these things. Keep the reports coming if youāre willing!
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Thanks! Itās good to know that others might find my little spearmints (experiments in Texan) helpful. Here goes: In my little test, Ultra Black has more staying power than Silver Blackener. White Scotch Brite didnāt touch UB and minimally removed a little of the SB, whereas it can take off quite a bit of LoS. Green Scotch Brite was able to leave just a slight shade of gold/brown on the SB, but left quite a bit of the UB. Steel wool (000) was able to remove all of the SB, and could also get rid of the UB, Iām sure, but with a lot of work.
I also experimented with solder, since LoS colors sterling and solder very differently (as one would expect). My beef is the little āauraā surrounding a solder join, that also gets a different color unless I sand the area near the solder. Well, UB pretty much doesnāt stain solder, and only slightly if I sand the solder. SB and LoS both color solder differently than sterling, but if I sand it down with 400 grit it can look just like sterling, with both LoS and SB. Not in every case, but thereās some promise there.
The only reason to choose UB over SB or LoS would be its apparent resistance to wear. So, in these terms, UB>SB>LoS. And Iāll go ahead and point out that tellurium dioxide is not water soluble, so itās pretty much not going to be absorbed through the skin from jewelry.
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Thanks for the results from your spearmints! Iām currently thinking of using Jax or Ultra black again, in addition to LoS, so this is great info!
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Thank you for posting on this topic. I am going through a similar scenario for brass. I have the silver pretty well figured out, and like JAX SB. I have been wondering about the UB, so I thank you for your āspearmintā as it is quite helpful. I am about the JAX Brass Blackener, too. If anyone has experience with that, Iād love to hear opinions.
One of my wholesale customers wants a bunch of brass jewelry as a rush order. I have not had time to wait for JAX Brass Blackener to be shipped by ground. It is either sold out or not carried locally. So, I rolled the dice and got some Sculpt Nouveax blackener for brass to see how that works. Iāll post results once I get it dialed in.