I tried to solder the end caps on a woven bracelet using some paste
solder for silver (which flows at 430 F, 221 C). Never having done
this before, I had no way of knowing when it was reaching the
appropriate temperature. After heating for 10-15 seconds with my
torch, a flame (about 1" tall) appeared, coming out of the end cap
and lots of white smoke. After a few more seconds, this created a
burnt, black residue over the end of the chain as it enters the end
cap. So I’m thinking, obviously – I over heated it.
I have been able to clean the outside part of the chain with
abrasion, however, this doesn’t work on the interior part of the
woven chain that I cannot access. I’ve tried pickling for a long
time and my ionic cleaner but nothing has removed enough of it. I
don’t have an ultrasonic cleaner but would gladly buy one if it
would solve my problem. Any ideas??
Thanks!
Elizabeth
Clearly there was something in your endcap other than just solder or
silver. There might have been some epoxy, antiquing agent, or human
goo. I would certainly ultrasonic if I could (Can you go to a
friend’s and use theirs? Is there a jewelry store whose ultrasonic
you could sweetly ask to soak it in for a while?), but in my
experience when working on “mystery” ethnic jewelry, even the
ultrasonic may not get it perfectly clean, so you may just have to
suck it up, breathe in the nasty fumes and attack it as best you
can. Beware that if you ultrasonic it for an extended period of time,
you’ll be repolishing and reantiquing the whole thing. If you
suspect human goo, you could also go the “granny bomb” route and soak
the thing in Drano (lye) for a day. Be wary of stones in the Drano
(diamonds OK), but if you’re already torching the piece I suspect
you’ll be fine.
Best of luck!
Jalia
Jalia M. LaNoue Goldsmith Spinelle Fine Jewelers Napa,
California