Mix of textured finishes

Greetings (again):

I am using two different finishes on a sterling silver piece and
wondering if anyone has suggestions for how to mask off an area while
texturing another. For example, I am working on a flat cuff bracelet
that has a large, simple flower embossed on it with a rolling mill
and an engraved platewhere the petals are simply outlined. The entire
bracelet can then then be polished shiny, but what is the best way of
masking off the petals so that the background can be highly textured?
Or will it be possible to do this with various tips on a flex shaft
and if so, which ones are recommended?

Thanks.
Ellen Harris

You can probably just go over the parts you want finished
differently with a mop on your flex shaft. The mop obviously depends
on the finish you want.

You can buy all sorts of satin-finish mops. I’d just buy a couple and
see what you like best.

Good luck Ellen!
Laura
London

Ellen,

I believe that if you use flex shaft polishers your large flat
polished surface will look like it’s been polished with flex shaft
attachements. I have polished items with areas I did not want
polished. I used masking tape to cover the area I wanted to protect
then used a bench polishing machine. You have to make sure you polish
from the tape and away from it. If you polish toward the edge of the
tape you’ll lift the edge, therefore close attention is necessary.
There are other tapes available that have stronger adhesive and
thinner backing material than masking tape. You might try preparing
some simple test pieces of metal and practicing to see what works
best for you.

Mike DeBurgh, GJG
Henderson, NV

9/30 Thank you much, I used 3 hammers on 1 size jump ring, 2 on
another, etc. I want to take some brass plates I alredy have for cuff
bracelets originally last Spring & experiment see what happens, I’m
sure i’ll elongate, etc, but it might be interesting. Any more ideas
always appreciated.

Sharon Perdasofpy