I’ve been using a “cheapo Harbor Freight” rotary tumbler for… oh,
several years. I also have used it and the same stainless media to
burnish gold alloys, sterling, Argentium sterling, and copper. I’ve
also run metals patina-ed with liver of sulfur. So far, all metals
come out with a lovely, shiny finish. No discoloration.
Perhaps the older barrel is made of a different material? What
burnishing compound are you using? Let us know if your effort to
clean the shot makes a difference. If not, Judy Hoch is the expert on
tumbling and her little book is an invaluable resource.
Judy in Kansas, where triple digits are predicted AGAIN. Sheesh.
Will this ever end???
In this case James, I agree with you about the low risk - but when
info like that goes out on a mailing list without safety warnings,
you never know who’s going to fill a bath-tub in a small room, so
that they can clean up large objects!
There is a cute video on youtube where someone tries repeatedly to
ignite the H2 from a heated solution of sodium carbonate with
aluminum foil because someone told him it would make hydrogen. He
could not do it. I seriously doubt you could figure out how to
collect enough H2 to ignite much less cause a fire or explosion. The
major amount of gas evolved is CO2. You are right about sodium
hydroxide it is a much more serious reaction on several fronts but I
have never heard anyone suggest using it to clean silver via the
aluminum foil method only sodium bicarbonate and sodium carbonate and
both work with truly no hazard except possibly to the silver as
noted by Jeffery Herman.
My article on Electrochemical (Galvanic) Reduction was referenced
from a study done by the Canadian Conservation Institute. They have a
Ph.D. chemist that did the testing. Please stay away from Tarn-X;
it’s a very dangerous chemical.
I looked her in the eye right back and replied, "Yes, but men
prefer tumbling as a polishing method." After that, they decided I
fit right in.
Cute, David, Cute! Just wanted to mention something I utilize to
remove tarnish on fragile and small silver pieces. There is a
chemical, thiourea, that does a great job of this. It is the active
ingredient in a commercial product called Goddard’s. (5%, resulting
in a pH of ~2, so…highlyacidic). Warm your piece and immerse in
the liquid for a couple of minutes. Do not leave in more than a few
minutes. Your piece may have the tarnish removed but may not be
"shiny."What I then do is spread the chain out on something soft
(old rags, etc.). Hold a section taut between thumb and index finger
and then rub softly with a silver-polishing cloth.
An excellent one is the Sunshine Cloth from Rio Grande.Read the
warnings on the Goddards. Wear glasses. If it gets on your hands
immediately wash it off. Works for me.
....Please stay away from Tarn-X; it's a very dangerous chemical.
Jeff, what is so dangerous about using Tarn-X? I’ve been using it to
clean my own brass, copper, and nickel-silver jewelry for over 20
years. It’s very quick, and, followed by a good rinse and dry and a
rub with a silver-polishing cloth, the jewelry’s original brightness
is restored. I pour a little in a plastic container with a good lid,
and one can use the same bit of Tarn-X over and over, for months on
end. Of course I warn my customers never to /soak/ anything in Tarn-X
and not to use it with pearls or soft stones like opal.
The Tarn-X bottle does not say that it works on brass, but in fact
it works very well. I contacted the manufacturer to find out why they
did not include brass in their list of things it cleans. The person
did not know the details of the results of the tests they had
performed on it. I simply guessed that perhaps Tarn-X sort of etches
out the zinc preferentially, but none of my brass jewelry has shown
any deleterious effects over the years that I have cleaned it with
Tarn-X. The only negative aspect I have found is that Tarn-X
gradually removes any antiquing that jewelry may have. I’m still
trying to assess whether it removes or just changes a little of the
mottled red fire patina I have on a piece of copper which is part of
a bracelet I made.
I never have sealed any of my jewelry with a coating of some sort.
As others have observed, the sealing (unless done on a wall hanging)
will chip or wear off, leaving an uneven coloring, as the metal
beneath the chips begins to tarnish. Then one must remove the sealing
material, clean the metal, and do the whole sealing job over again.
For me, this is simply not practical. Well, to each their own!
These are my hands polishing a couple of thin sterling chains on a
polishing wheel. Watch the very end as the wheel tries to suck the
leather into its maw.
I assure you, I’m a better jeweler then a videographer.
Please refer to my previously posted article: Dangerous&
Destructive Chemical Dips http://www.ganoksin.com/gnkurl/16t
Thank you for your reference, Jeffrey. I have re-read it, but am
still not warned off the use of Tarn-X for occasionally cleaning my
base metal jewelry. If I were a silver restorer, as you are, I assume
I would be more often in contact with thiourea, perhaps in greater
concentrations. But I doubt that, e.g., dipping and rinsing a pair of
brass earrings (a process which takes about 4 seconds) a few times
each week in Tarn-X has caused me or is going to cause health
problems.
In my handout to customers on “Cleaning Multimetal Jewelry,” I say
this about using Tarn-X.
4. Dipping multimetal jewelry for a couple of seconds in a
commercial liquid silver cleaner called "Tarn-X" (available in a
black plastic bottle in grocery and drug stores) is often the
simplest method. Follow the dipping with a thorough rinsing and
drying. Once dry, buff jewelry with the silver polishing cloth, if
needed. For regular cleaning, keep a small amount of Tarn-X in a
container with a snug plastic lid; it may be re-used for months.
[Some cautions about using Tarn-X: (a) dipping jewelry will
probably remove any antiquing or oxidized coloring it has; (b)
most harder stones may be safely dipped, but the surfaces of coral
and lapis lazuli may be dulled by repeated contact with Tarn-X, and
sodalite may turn from blue to purple. Read the Tarn-X label. Do
not /ever/ "soak" jewelry in Tarn-X.]
When I use Tarn-X, which is rarely, I do it under a fume hood and
with nitrile gloves.
Keep in mind that Tarn-X does indeed strip silver. If you keep using
it, there’s no doubt that it will actually silver-plate brass,
copper, and other metals if dipped in the same container. It happened
to me early on in my career.
Wow, Great Video!! that’s really quick but I was taught to wrap it
around a thick wooden dowel. I think the arbor, which looks like mine
would suck me and the necklace in:)))) I kinda need both
hands:)))-ann
These are my hands polishing a couple of thin sterling chains on a
polishing wheel.
That is exactly how I would handle the problem (if I didn’t wrap the
chain round a baseball bat section) But I never ever wear any
jewellery or a watch while working, besides the hazards the balance
of my hands is thrown off.
That is exactly how I would handle the problem (if I didn't wrap
the chain round a baseball bat section) But I never ever wear any
jewellery or a watch while working, besides the hazards the
balance of my hands is thrown off.
I never wear jewelry or a watch when working with lines (like on a
sailboat) but if my wrist gets that close to the wheel Darwin says I
deserve to be sucked into my dust collector.