Am pretty new ;forgive me if this has been discussed todeath.
Put pins w. 18K overlay in pickle and they came out w. copper on the
gold. Is there a low tech way to remove it without abraiding the
gold?
Bruce Teschner
Designer/Craftsman
Boulder, CO
Bruce Teschner wrote:
Am pretty new ;forgive me if this has been discussed todeath.
Put pins w. 18K overlay in pickle and they came out w. copper on the
gold. Is there a low tech way to remove it without abraiding the
gold?
Bruce Teschner
Designer/Craftsman
Boulder, CO
Hello in the sovereignty of Boulder,
You can give this formula a try. We sometimes use it to remove the copper coating from
silver that has been accidently pickled in an iron contaminated bath by a student (So
where did the iron come from???).
1/2 Cup Hydrogen peroxide (3%) (same stuff they sell in the drug store)
1 Tablespoon FRESH Sparex solution pickle or sulferic acid pickle (5-10%)
Warm the peroxide up to 190 to 200 degrees, a small crock pot works fine. Now add the
tablespoon of FRESH pickle. Do not add more pickle, this is only a catalyst. Place the
items to be pickled in the warm peroxide solution and agitate with a feather or plastic
spoon. The peroxide will bubble and this lets you know it is working. Check the
progress of your items after a minute, it won’t take long.
Afterwards let the peroxide solution cool and store it in a dark brown bottle. The
solution is still good as long as it bubbles when used. No bubbles, the solution is
spent. Neutralize it with baking soda to dispose of the solution.
Good Luck
Joe B.
Arvada, Colorado
Bruce Teschner wrote:
Am pretty new ;forgive me if this has been discussed todeath.
Put pins w. 18K overlay in pickle and they came out w. copper on the
gold. Is there a low tech way to remove it without abraiding the
gold?
Bruce Teschner
Designer/Craftsman
Boulder, CO
Bruce, try a solution of 50% hydrogen peroxide and 50%water. Let your
piece soak for half a day or so and it should do the trick.
Incidentally, my guess is that your pickle is contaminated, I use that
18k overlay material and don’t have that problem.
Put pins w. 18K overlay in pickle and they came out w. copper on the
gold. Is there a low tech way to remove it without abraiding the
gold? Bruce Teschner
An easy method is to take a scoop full of your pickle solution (presumeably
Sparex, sodium bisulfate-commonly sold as swimming pool acid or PH reducer)
and add it to an equal quanitity of hydrogen peroxide from the drug store
(chemicst shop). Do not use the industrial strength peroxide this way, just
the ordinary failry mild peroxide such as is used an an antiseptic for
cuts.
So, one part pickle, one part hydrogen peroxide. Put your piece in and in a
minute or so the copper flashing will be gone. The peroxide converts it to
copper oxide which the pickle can then remove. The peroxide breaks down to
form water with time so you can just toss the mixture back in your pickle
pot when you are done.
Charles
Brain Press
Box 1624, Ste M
Calgary, Alberta, T2P 2L7
Canada
tel: 403-263-3955
fax: 403-283-9053
Email: @Charles_Lewton-Brain