Nickel-silver pickeling

Jewelry Discussion
1

Hi all, I do contract work silver soldering nickel silver. I read in
Orchid about pickeling with sparex and hydrogen peroxide, so I gave
it a try. It works great; the pieces come out really clean and
bright, however, after I rinse them with plain water, they start to
tarnish immediately! By the time I turn them in, maybe only an hour
later, they look like they’ve been sitting around tarnishing for a
couple years. I suspect it may have something to to with the oxygen
in the peroxide clinging to the metal. Is there something I should
rinse them with to prevent this? I tried baking soda, with no result.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Steve Shelby

2

Hi Steve,

Try Potassium Alumen ( I don’t know the right term in english,
sorry!) in a water saturated solution at 70 C.

Christo
christokiffer@christokiffer.com

3

Hi all, I do contract work silver soldering nickel silver. I read in
Orchid about pickeling with sparex and hydrogen peroxide, so I gave
it a try. It works great; the pieces come out really clean and
bright, however, after I rinse them with plain water, they start to
tarnish immediately! By the time I turn them in, maybe only an hour
later, they look like they’ve been sitting around tarnishing for a
couple years. I suspect it may have something to to with the oxygen
in the peroxide clinging to the metal. Is there something I should
rinse them with to prevent this? I tried baking soda, with no result.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Steve Shelby

4

could you have left the items in the pickle for too long?..

Alison

5

Hello Steve: All the problem is the hydrogen peroxide. Do not use it.

Regards from
Daniel Mischelejis
Buenos Aires, Argentina
email: mischelejis@fibertel.com.ar
web page: http://www.mischelejis.com