Thank you all for your advise.
It looks like I had a mild(?) case of porosity in the second
casting…as I polished, pinholes appeared on nearly every piece. So
I guess it’s back to the larger casting house for me. I ended up
using emery paper wherever I could reach. Tripoli on string worked
well on the inside bits and I eventually tried a glass fiber brush.
That left fine scraches, but took off the ‘crust’ very quickly and I
still had the texture left.
The foundries are all closed for vacation here. (Europe shuts down in
July and Aug.) So I’ll have to wait until Sept. to ask about the
tarnish free silver. I have an interesting book on metal finishes (
The Colouring, Bronzing and Patination fo Metals by Richard Hughes
and Michael Rowe, publ. by Thames and Hudson). They mention using
beeswax and other waxes to seal bronze. Would it work on silver to
prevent tarnishing?
Cathy Icardo (in the still chilly Anjou, France)