Back to Ganoksin | FAQ | Contact

Liver of sulphur basics

#1

Hi to all,

I would like to know if someone in these forums could tell me
exactly what is Liver of Sulphur, can it be made at home ?, how do
you use it to b lack the silver.

Thanks in advance,
Thor Hedderich

#2

The current Lapidary Journal magazine has a good article about using
liver of sulphur.

#3 
I would like to know if someone in these forums could tell me
exactly what is Liver of Sulphur, can it be made at home ?, how do
you use it to b lack the silver

I order liver of sulphur in the rock form- you only need a tiny bit
ground up (I use a mortar & pestal) and mix it with 1/2 cup warm
water in a plastic or glass container. You can use a brush or simply
dip your piece in, but I run it imediately under cold water and get a
lovely effect. A rich dark color with purple and blue undertones. A
very fine steel wool rubbed on the dry surface of a treated piece
gently removes and brightens the finish, showing off any texture on
the piece. It works on silver, copper and brass- all non-ferrous
metals I believe. I would not recommend using pre-mixed liver of
sulfur as it doesn’t last long. If you keep the rock form in an
air-tight container and mix when needed it will last forever. I’ve
had mine for years. A reminder also to be sure the metal is very
clean- even fingerprints will mess up the effect. It is only on the
surface, so you can always scrub it off if you don’t like the look.
Hope this is some help-

Stephanie Swanson

#4

Stephanie, and Don,

Thanks for the advice, jut one more question is liver of sulfur in
rock form the same as sulfur (Azufre) which is a yellow semi hard
material.? maybe I am confused because I do have this sulfur in rock
form ( maybe a sub product from oil destilation ) and I do know some
guys use it to blacken the silver.

Again thanks to all fro the advice.

Thor Hedderich

#5

A while back there was a topic of how to rejuvenate dry liver of
sulfur in an oven. Does anyone remember what it was?

#6

Hi Thor,

Actually Ganoksin has a good informative document on their website.
Here is the URL:

The article says that Liver of Sulfer is a mixture of potassium
sulfides. I use it quite frequently and it is a greenish color, like
army green, not yellow like Azufre. So I guess it is a mixture of
potassium and sulfur to make a sulfide. I think we should call the
solid form, the solid form. They are not really rocks.

I use the solid form. I do not grind it. I simply take a pea sized
nugget of the substance (like a rock, but not a rock) and put it in
very warm water. I mix it and it dissolves very quickly.

In my work, I mainly use it for colors on silver and gold. I like the
beautiful blues and golds you can get from LOS. It does turn black
eventually, but it is not usually what I want.

The order of the appearance of colors when using LOS is predictable.
The colors go from gold, rose, gray, blue and black. There are
probably other colors in between, and I have achieved greens and
coppers as well, but this is what I remember.

Your piece will color faster if it is hot when dipped in the LOS.
Then rinse with cold water to stop the reaction when you get to the
color you want.

Hope this helps,
Laura

Laura H. Hastings
Eclectica Jewelry
Tucson, Arizona
USA
http://www.rubylane.com/shops/eclectica