pickling question

[Jayne]

This morning I had to pickle a few bits so I put them in the pickling unit, but didn't turn the unit on because I had to go out. Came back about 1 hour later to turn it on, only to find that they were already clean - without the need for heat. Is this a sign that my pickle is too concentrated? If so, is there a downside to this?
J x

[agent_44]

I think it's just a case of they will pickle without heat, it just takes longer!

[Jayne]

oooh......could this be an opportunity to save the planet? Switch off the picklers now???!!
J x

[Emerald]

it depends on the age of your pickle as to how well it will work cold and as you say the concentrate if you want things quick then it needs to be warm but if you have time leave it cool.;)

[Jayne]

I wish someone had told me this before I forked out on the @$%&/?* pickling unit - I needn't have bothered :-/
Thanks guys,
J x

[Jayne]

Just pickled another lot in 20 mins - no heat

[Di Sandland]

Another pickle question:

I've just soldered the clasp (my first handmade toggle and I'm a bit proud) onto a combined silver and copper bracelet. Can the two metals be pickled together, or will my silver go pink?

[Emerald]

Di it will be fine its steel that turns silver pink x

[Di Sandland]

Thanks Jo - in it goes then

[Boo]

I often leave items in my cold citric acid pickle ovenight - especially copper - you come down in a morning to lovely clean pink copper. It just works faster when warm.

If you pickle a lot of copper and it discolours the pickle, silver will take on a pale pink tinge from it. The answer to which is to not use old dirty pickle for silver pieces if you've done a lot of copper in it. It does plate it more rapidly, as posted, if you put something ferrous in too.

[Ominicci]

I heat my pickle in a tiny pyrex dish over a plate warmer heated by a tea light. If I light it in the morning it lasts 4 hours and will 'pickle' all day as it is slightly warmer than room temperature.

[WitchfordSilver]

I use the safety pickle, and if i'm working at night i don't bother to turn on my heater and just leave it in the pot untill i return the next night. 20hrs or so does not seem to cause me any problems.

I have a pot of water filled with baking soda, in to which all things pickled go in to. just in case some pickle is left in any hollows.

I have heard that somefolks think the to long in the pickle weekens the joint, but I just keep the joint away from the pickle, only placing the silver items in:)

[lucy81]

i'd been wondering this myself. didn't really want to mess around with heating the pickle up (as I make my jewellery at home, and don't have a dedicated space as such). It was only last night I read in a book that heating the pickle isn't necessary, just takes a little bit longer

[The Dragon]

Thanks for the tip about baking soda, I spend quite a bit of time rinsing my stuff. Am I right in thinking you use cold water for this? Will tap water do or is it better to use distilled?

God there is so much to learn - I think I need another brain! lol #-o

[amazingbabe]

I don;t heat my pickle at all and never have.....:Y: Yes it still works :Y:

[Dano]

on this subject, i dunno if it's just my local one or national, but asda have got a ceramic bowl slow cooker in with a low temperature setting for £7 right now

[Bigwol]

I often leave items in my cold citric acid pickle ovenight - especially copper - you come down in a morning to lovely clean pink copper. It just works faster when warm.

If you pickle a lot of copper and it discolours the pickle, silver will take on a pale pink tinge from it. The answer to which is to not use old dirty pickle for silver pieces if you've done a lot of copper in it. It does plate it more rapidly, as posted, if you put something ferrous in too.

Granulation - something else hard to do!

Old pickle containing a lot of copper is very useful for granulation, it can be used to deliberately plate the tiny fine silver silver balls with sufficient copper to enable eutectic bonding to take place in the granulation process.

If you want hours of frustration, I can recommend granulation as a fine way of whiling away those winter evenings!

For more info see here -

[Ganoksin] Jewelry Making - - Theory and Practice of Goldsmithing - Granulation (http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/nenam/granulation.htm)

[Di Sandland]

Probably very naughty of me but when confronted with a thin silver seam of solder in a copper toggle clasp, I bunged it in old pickle (it had gone blue with what I imagined to be copper from sterling). The theory was that it would plate the silver solder to match the copper. It did.

[Boo]

I've done the same myself Di - I keep a jar of very blue pickle used with copper just for the task, but haven't found it worth doing - by the time I oxidise and polish, the very thin layer, which wasn't good to start with, was polished off.

[Di Sandland]

I rather thought that might be the case, Boo. I just hate even the smallest sliver of silver tho. :(

[Solunar Silver Studio]

If you are desperately desperate Di you could go for this...
Copper Solder 20g Easy - by the Foot (http://www.rawtreasures.com/detail.asp?product_id=WCOPSDRE)

I found it some time ago on here
http://www.artmetal.com/blog/eligius1427/2008/01/copper_solder_for_soldering_copper
There are a lot of different ideas but the copper solder seems to be liked by those that have used it....you just have to order it from the States:'(

[Di Sandland]

Thanks Bee - next time I'm doing some ordering I'll add that to the list. Other stuff has got to be ordered from the States too - so I'll do it in one fell swoop and see what customs come up with. =:-O