Originally Posted by
Lindy
Are you enamelling on sterling or fine silver? It sounds as if you have fire stain which occurs if the surface is not well protected during annealing or soldering. Really, I find that you need to use nitric to clean the surface to reveal a layer of fine silver, if it has been subjected to heat at all. You could presumably otherwise use depletion building but I haven't actually tried that myself. Generally, I don't solder the piece until after enamelling. Then findings can be successfully soldered to the back using hard solder and supporting the piece by its edges. You need to be quick and confident with the torch. I leave the piece to air cool before pickling. With hard solder it is possible to refire the piece if necessary. I often protect the solder joint with typists correction fluid. The silver from Cooksons is supplied annealed so can be successfully shaped without any further annealing. Enamelled jewellery is all about designing the piece to minimise soldering and to ensure that solder and enamel don't have contact with each other.
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