Closing bails in order to solder them

[Aurarius]

Can anyone tell me what tool they use for closing pendant bails in order to solder the ends shut?

I made a pendant bezel, soldered on a jump ring at the top, then passed my bail through the jump ring and tried to squeeze the ends of it shut with my fingers in order to solder it, but the bail was quite thick-walled and working in such a tight space I couldn't get the ends to come together properly. I couldn't use pliers because of the risk of damaging the surface of the bail. I ended up poking a sliver of silver into the gap and soldering this in the end to close the gap.

Would nylon-jawed pliers (which I don't have) have done the job? What tool do most people use? Thanks!.

[CJ57]

I have always wrapped masking tape round my pliers and it cushions against scratches

[Petal]

I use plastidip on my pliers, but only after I've given them a good polish with wet and dry papers/micromesh and that makes them nice and smooth.

[Wallace]

You could anneal the bail to make it softer and then easily close it

[theresa]

I find using 2 parallel jaw pliers the best. Good grip so less chance of slipping and damaging the silver.

[Aurarius]

Many thanks for the replies. They're all useful tips.
I've posted a couple of pics of the finished item.