Thanks to all who sent in suggestions for my blackened rings. I
tried many things, including the coke…only that didn’t work so
well, I used diet pepsi since that is what I had on hand -
mistake? the carbination broke the seal on the tumbler when I
ran it and I had pepsi all over, that cleaned up I just let the
shot soak about an hour in the pepsi and the shot turned black!
I have stainless steel shot BTW. Anyway next step was to get
some lye and I followed Dave Aren’s advice on that one. The shot
came out looking much better, I tried it on another batch of
rings and they came out beautifully - the water was black
however, Next batch I redid the orginal rings (I had worked on
them some, polishing by hand, getting the insides done and
planning to polish them with white diamond on the wheel.) They
also came out great, the water not being so black this time. I
think what I did wrong in the first place was put too much
cleaning compound into the water. In the past I had always
reused the water and cleaning stuff over several times. This
time I am changing it each batch and only using a small of amount
of the cleaning stuff.
Anyway, thanks again to all of you who responded - saved me all
kinds of time - all these rings get kind of dull looking after a
few months and i really wanted them bright and shiny for this
show I am doing next week. Jan Oregon, USA
Thanks to all who sent in suggestions for my blackened rings. I
tried many things, including the coke....only that didn't work so
well, I used diet pepsi since that is what I had on hand -
mistake? the carbination broke the seal on the tumbler when I
ran it and I had pepsi all over, that cleaned up I just let the
shot soak about an hour in the pepsi and the shot turned black!
I have stainless steel shot BTW. Anyway next step was to get
some lye and I followed Dave Aren's advice on that one. The shot
came out looking much better, I tried it on another batch of
Jan, I am so sorry the coke did not work and the Pepsi broke the
seal. (Is this a permanent ‘break’ or only because of the
carbonation?) I’m going to research this some more, because I know
that one day this will happen to me too, Murphy’s law and all that
rot. Hey, John Burgess are you following this? What do you think
about the coke and stainless steel???
Nancy
As for using coke as a cleaner for shot, some 30 years ago, one of
the things we loved to do with coke was put a copper penny in it
and watch it dissolve - it could also be used to clean automobile
batteries but if left on too long, it could also dissolve the
battery.
Iris
Baltimore MD USA
Jan, I am so sorry the coke did not work and the Pepsi broke the
seal. (Is this a permanent ‘break’ or only because of the
carbonation?) I’m going to research this some more, because I know
that one day this will happen to me too, Murphy’s law and all that
rot. Hey, John Burgess are you following this? What do you think
about the coke and stainless steel???
It was the carbination, it forced the seal open - no permanent
damage…I am so glad to be back in business - getting all those
rings shiny again is a real plus. Jan
Jan-
Have you tried the anti-tarnish strips from Rio? I tried the
cheaper ones (that they evidently no longer carry) and they were
great. My stuff has been in the travel jewelry cases since
December and only a few need to be polished. I guess the 3M brand
will be even better, although much more costly. Try them, maybe
you’ll like them . I use them at shows inside my cases and
have noticed much less tarnishing.
Nancy
Just a thought, if you are working in silver and want to keep it
from tarnishing between shows . . . it was recommended to me, that
you put each piece into a plastic bag. I’ve stored items for a
year, and they haven’t tarnished.
Just a thought, if you are working in silver and want to keep it
from tarnishing between shows . . . it was recommended to me, that
you put each piece into a plastic bag. I've stored items for a
year, and they haven't tarnished.
Hey Fishbre,
Thanks for the compliment, sometimes I think I speak with my
fingers too much.
As to the above, you don’t live on the Texas Gulf Coast do you?
Its a hot, humid, sticky, damp, soggy place to be and in the summer
you need to be a water breathing animal when you go outside!
Silver, brass and even gold gets yucky quickly. I put my pieces in
zip bags when shows are weeks apart, but unitl I found the
anti-tarnish strips and started adding a small piece in the bag
with the jewelry I still got tarnish. Oh, for a northern or west
coast climate.
Nancy