I have a question: I made a ring in 14Kt. White gold. After I
soldered it and threw it into the pickle, the oxidation was still
there. I’m using Sparex #2 -heated. I’m thinking about trying
nickel pickle as I don’t think tumbling a ring w/ Oxidation will do
anything, and I already “Had” a nice finish on it. I think my
caster used Pd to alloy it because it sure was hard to
work/size/polish. If any of you have any ideas I would sure
appreciate you assistance. I feel a litte panniky right now because
the ring is supposed to ship to the customer by Feb. 17th. I’m sure
I’ll make it, but I like to be “Days” ahead of schedule.
In one of Oppi Untracht’s books there is a formula for a white
gold pickle that contains potassium dichromate. I’ve used Sparex
with a pinch of potassium dichromate on white gold. It works well.
At the least it’ll turn dark gray oxidation into a clean layer of
copper which will readily accept a rhodium plate.
Palladium white gold is more mallaeble(spelling?) than nickel
white gold so based on that alone I’d say your alloy is nickel
white gold. I’ve never tried nickel pickle on nickel white gold so
let us know how that works but it exists primarily, not to remove
oxides from nickel alloys better but to avoid copper plating out
onto your workpiece from the pickle. Also make sure you are using
fresh pickle. We all know how much better a new batch of
ultrasonic cleaning solution works, and don’t get me started on
brand new burs!
You didn’t by chance QUENCH the ring in the pickle after
soldering? With white gold, you have to be extra careful and let
it cool a bit before pickling or the crystal structure gets crazy.
It will make the metal VERY brittle/difficult to work/BAD attitude.
This sort of precaution should be taken when plunging a freshly
cast white gold item into water to loosen investment, when pickling
after soldering, when pickling after heating to anneal, and any
other time when you run the risk of quenching the metal as you
normally would with yellow gold alloys, silver, etc.
Good luck,
Heather Sickler
Jeff Howden
Intrica Fine Jewelry @intrica
That has happened to me before also. I too, use sparex and it
works fine 99.9% of the time. I dont think you need to change
pickle solution. Call me stupid, but if the ring doesnt have some
sort of machine type finish that cant be duplicated by you, why
dont you use a rubber wheel of some sorts and take the oxy off
yourself?
onto your workpiece from the pickle. Also make sure you are using
fresh pickle.
I was taught that you could just keep adding water to pickle until
it turned green. Didn’t believe that worked as good as fresh,
but always wondered if I was wasting good pickle. Glad to hear
someone agrees, I won’t feel so extravagant anymore.
I was taught that you could just keep adding water to pickle
until it turned green. Didn't *believe* that worked as good as
fresh, but always wondered if I was wasting good pickle.
That is why I love this board. I wondered why, after a while, my
pickle quit “working” and now I remember that it had a green tint
to it. I just kept adding water. I have to learn to change it
more frequently. Thanks for the eye opener!
I was taught that you could just keep adding water to pickle
until it turned green. Didn't *believe* that worked as good as
fresh, but always wondered if I was wasting good pickle. Glad to
hear someone agrees, I won't feel so extravagant anymore.
G’day Nancy; There isn’t any point in being mean with pickle.
It is so cheap they chuck it into swimming baths to adjust the pH.
They also sell it as a toilet cleaner, called Harpic here and in
Britain. Their slogan always reminds me of myself, “Clean round the
bend”! Sparex is only sodium bisulphate (NaHSO4) - which in turn
is a waste product from the manufacture of hydrochloric acid. And
if you have anyone who is careful with their pool maintenance
(perhaps yourself?) you can use the acid neutraliser which is the
same chemical as Sparex. Have a look on the label on the acidifier
container and it should tell you if it contains sodium bisulphate.
No need to be mean with it - if it isn’t bought as Sparex, eh? I
personally use 10% sulphuric acid which I make up myself, because
I have plenty of it. Cheers,
Thanks to everyone who replied to my WGP inquiry. The Nickel
pickle doesn’t seem to do anything… Thanks for the suggestion
Steve. It seems I was “Stuck in stupid” on this one. I’ve been
using those crazy Mizzy wheels for a while, and call me L-A-Z-Y but
I just hoped for an easier way. When all was said and done I ended
up using a soft rotary brush with tripoli. It took me less time to
polish the piece than it did for me to type this “E”. Live and
learn, stop learning, and you must be dead.
For whatever it is worth. Electrostripping will remove nickel
oxides as well as all other surface materials from white gold. Care
needs to be taken in two areas. First and foremost this is a
cyanide based compound and can be deadly if misused. Second,
electrostripping can remove metal extremely quickly. I have had
the experience of rendering junk by not paying attention.