I need some help!
Does anyone do Silver plating or stripping for others. I cast about
400 solid Sterling Silver Pine Cones (actually Mountain Alder Cones
per week) and need them stripped or plated to give them a prettier
look. I was able to get them “bright white” clean by using
“Divestor”, for almost 30 years, but about 4 years ago, Grobet bought
out the company making it (to my understanding). They changed the
formula from a highly acid divestor to just some soapy junk that
almost does nothing. Anyway I want to get back to having my pine
cones bright white before tumbling them, any suggestions?
Right now I clean them with alternating solutions of pickle and then
ammonia in an ultrasonic. I am getting them fairly white, but not
consistently, even in the same batch. I do oxidize the darker ones,
but they do not sell as good as the bright white ones.
Questions narrowed down?
-
Does anyone know where I can purchase “Divestor” that contains
some acid, and it think it was hydrochloric? -
Has anyone else used the old divestor and still know where to get
something similar? -
Do you do any Silver stripping for others?
-
Do you do any Silver plating for others?
-
Do you have a method of cleaning elaborate castings to get them
“bright white”?
I cast another 100 to 1000 pieces each week of regular junk castings
for the Colorado tourist trade, elk, horses, leaves and stuff for my
classes, and I get them plenty white, and clean before tumbling, but
these pine cones need to be perfect before tumbling.
As I have said, I have cast these for over 30 years, with no
problems cleaning them with the divestor. Right now it seems like I
could sell as many as I can cast! This part of my business was hurt
when the process of plating natural objects was invented about 20
years ago, but now, I could sell a 1,000 a week, I think, if I could
get them as white as I use to.
Your help will be greatly appreciated, and even rewarded with a pine
cone or two! Or three!
Thanks,
Don
http://silverpinecones.homestead.com/PineCones.html