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mkay118
07-01-2013, 03:00 AM
Another question..

I have looked everywhere on the web for how to create a Matt white finish on silver, I know cookson gold do the compound, but how does one go about doing some areas Matt and others polished? I have a wire pendant with grains, wanting the grains completely white against pushed silver wire.

I also understand to get completely Matt white the copper has to be removed from the surface leaving pure silver, so heat, pickle, heat pickle.

Are there any other methods? I know of the wire brush but the leaves a satin gloss not Matt white.

Thanks maz

Dennis
07-01-2013, 06:06 AM
Hi Maz,
As I'm on the night shift, here are a few answers:

You are right in saying that you can bring a whiter silver to the surface of sterling by alternate heating and pickling and this is called depletion gilding. Also if you use gently steaming alum solution as your pickle the result will be decidedly whiter, if you don't then re-polish it.
Another way is to use what is loosely called sand blasting.

However none of these effects is sustainable, because in wear prominent parts will soon be scratched, or at least rubbed to a polish.

So the only way is to achieve any sustainable contrast is to use patination (loosely called oxidation), to darken the silver and then polish the high,parts. Patination agents are liver of sulphur, ammonium sulphide and (diluted) Platinol.

The light grains against a polished background might be achieved (sort of) by polishing or tumbling the whole piece and then carefully dulling the prominent grains with a small dry glass brush, or a fine frosting wheel. but as said above, they will soon be polished by wear. Also note note that matte surfaces will tarnish more quickly than polished ones, so the effect will be a passing illusion.

Then there is enamelling, but thinking about it this morning in the cold light of day, people would normally do white on shiny using tiny gem stones or pearls. Dennis

mkay118
07-01-2013, 01:43 PM
Thank you Dennis, exactly the answers I needed. I do want to invest in a frosting wheel, but my work is very small and mostly domes (5mm - 10mm), i have seen the pencil nylon brushes for the dremel which achieves a satin look, the glass brush I will look at too. I don't have the alum solution, just ordinary safety pickle.

Thanks again, Maz.

Patstone
07-01-2013, 04:03 PM
I left a ring in the safety pickle, forgot it was there and went back several days later to find that it was pure white, the design was a disc about 1 inch across with a white topaz in the centre and the disc was hammered in lines from centre to outside with the outside of the disc fluted and I just rubbed the high spots with a cloth and the effect was very nice. Unfortunately it is a bit big for me !!!! so it will have to go up for sale.

Dennis
07-01-2013, 06:40 PM
posted in error