I have always described palladium white gold to my clients as a
pewter like grayish white metal.
PD white gold (both 14kt and 18kt) work best visually for my line
inlaid pieces offering more contrast between the various inlaid
metals. I fuse Pd white gold whenever possible for color matching
with a propane/oxygen little torch.
I also melt down Pd white gold scraps in a platinum crucible for
milling purposes.
Palladium 950 (that I purchase from Stuller) is another metal that I
use a great deal (both fabricated and cast (using Techform in
Portland for my casting) and to my eyes Pd 950 is much whiter than
Pd white gold. Initially I used the 19kt white hard solder with the
Pd 950, but was never really happy with it as far as color matching.
More recently I have been working with some palladium solders that
that I have been purchasing through Otto Frei. These solders are used
like a platinum solder and I use protective tinted glasses because of
their high melting temps.
The alternative is nickel white gold which is whiter than
palladium white gold, but nickel is a big problem with people who
have allergies to nickel. I don't use nickel white gold for this
reason.
In 22 years of making nickle white 14kt gold wedding bands, my own
personal experience is that I have not had one customer who was
allergic. Not saying it does not happen.
I have used traditional old school white gold, usually rhodium
plated, and the Winter White alloy from David Fell (that does not
need to be rhodium plated) Andy Cooper man mentioned on this forum a
long time ago. 14 kt made using Winter White alloy is easy to work,
fabricating, or after casting, no cracking, I can forge it, bend it,
easy to set gems in.
Visually, whites are tricky, thatās for sure. To make nickel white
behave many alloys that I have seen are quite yellowāthe nickel
content cut down. Looks like pale yellow. I treat PW as its own
metal rather than considering it a replacement for āwhiteā white
gold.
I have used traditional old school white gold, usually rhodium
plated, and the Winter White alloy from David Fell (that does not
need to be rhodium plated) Andy Cooperman mentioned on this forum
a long time ago. 14 kt made using Winter White alloy is easy to
work, fabricating, or after casting, no cracking, I can forge it,
bend it, easy to set gems in.
Here here! When I want a āwhiteā white gold, DHF Winter White is the
one. I even forge it. So glad that you enjoy it Richard.
Not trueā¦Iāve been casting 18K PW from Hoover and Strong for years
with Satin Cast. No Problems, I donāt know the exact liquidus of the
alloy, but it is considerably higher than Nickel/Gold alloysā¦
However, this doesnāt preclude using normal casting investments.
When I was in Paris (France) the white gold we used was 18k PW and
yes it has a gray tone to it and thatās why the French call it OR
GRIS (gray gold) and we had to Rhodium plate it.
I've been casting 14k palladium white with R&R normal gold
investment for years with no blowouts or problems.
Typically, at least with Satin Cast 20, you find increased surface
roughness of the casting, and some increased surface porosity, due to
a metal/mold reaction.
Typically, at least with Satin Cast 20, you find increased surface
roughness of the casting, and some increased surface porosity, due to
a metal/mold reaction.
Thatās interesting Peter. I do primarily vacuum casting and when
everything is done just right, my palladium comes out smooth enough
to polish up with a few rubs of the thumb, a very light gray, not
mirrored but very smooth and a bit reflective, with no apparent
interaction with the investment. And no porosity with a very crisp
ring to the metal. I use a dead neutral flameā¦ with quick heat in
and outā¦that seems important too. Years ago, if I lingered with
heating the metal due to too small a flame for the amount of metal or
even just a bit too rich or sharp a flame, I will not get good
results. Now I have certainly had what you describe happen when I get
the metal a bit too hot too. For this reason I often do a two melt,
one to homogenize and mix the alloy thoroughly with the gold which
requires a very high heat. ( I do this in a charcoal block which is
the easiest way for me to control the atmosphere) and another melt to
cast, pouring as soon as my graphite rod says is has melted, which I
monitor closely, keeping the rod in the flame so as not to have a
false cool reading of the stir. I donāt know all the science involved
but this works well for me.
Maybe the mold temp being too hot also contributes to failure,
although those experiments were too many years past for me to
actually remember all the details. But the neutral flame seems the
most important. And definitely overheating the metal just a little
will fuse some investment into the metal and porosity becomes evident
as well, usually to the scrap out point as the porosity often runs
deep and the metal is not sound or dense.
I had these same good results with a standard gold investment from
Westcast, in NM or TX I think, about ten years agoā¦ Rio possibly
distributed it if not mfg it Discontinued quite a few years ago
though. I havenāt used Satin Cast since the early 80s, not for a
particular reason that I recall.
Typically, at least with Satin Cast 20, you find increased surface
roughness of the casting, and some inceased surface porosity, due
to a metal/mold reaction.
We have found that the best results in palladium white gold alloys
were obtained with R & R Ultra Maxx for vacuum casting. The regular
jewelers investment were more prone to breakdown and metal / mold
reactions. The usual casting temperatures for the palladium white
gold alloys run from 1140 to 1150C in 14K and 1220 to 1230C in the
higher palladium content 18K white golds. These temperatures will
push the envelope a bit too much for regular jewelers investments.
The Ultra Maxx seems to handle the higher casting temperatures
better. Several other companies make the higher temperature
compatable investments, you can check with your supplier.
Cheers & Regards
Jim Sivertsen
United Technical Dept.
I enjoy working with 14kt white/palladiumā¦but I am having a hard time finding a color match solder. I have tried 20kt white;plumb;weld which works great with platinum but this metal is grayer and everything I try seems to look warm toned.