I have the sneaking suspicion that our Platinum plating bath is contaminated. The pieces are coming out with a faint pinkish cast. Higher temperature = more pink. It’s most noticeable if you look at pieces under diffuse light such as under a piece of paper.
I had made a holder for the thermometer probe out of copper wire. I thought it would be OK if it was heavily plated with Palladium and Platinum since it wasn’t going to be in the solution. I didn’t take into account the fuming from the sulfuric acid in the Platinum solution. One morning I saw that it was corroding and replaced it with stainless steel. I couldn’t tell if anything fell into the bath. I think it must have done.
As far as I know there isn’t a feasible way to get the copper out of the bath. Fortunately it’s only a liter of test bath. Any thoughts out there?
Ruthanne Robertson
R&D Bench Jeweler
Legacytouch, Inc.