Alum any good?

[Katrina]

Hello knowledge givers!

I wanted a little help from anybody who has experience using alum. I have used safety pickle at college but I would like to refrain from using it at home as I have little ones.

I have heard about but I am not sure on a few things such as-

Is it as good as safety pickle?
Do i have to use it hot?
How long roughly does it take to pick a piece of silver i.e a ring?
What concentration should i use it at? if i make it stronger will it work quicker? also will it destroy the metal?

Also any alternatives with comparisons to safety pickle would be great.

Thank you in advance

[caroleallen]

Hi Katrina,

Yes alum is fine as pickle. I use a slow cooker to heat it up. I can't really say what the concentration is. I just keep adding it to the water until it works! It doesn't destroy the metal.

[Dennis]

I can only add:

It works faster the hotter it gets: I have it steaming very gently in my slow cooker, and find that nearby tools are not corroded by it.

My small slow cooker, half full of water needs about a dessert spoon of alum and when fresh takes about a minute and a half to pickle a silver item. When it slows down I add some more, but throw it all out when it gets murky looking.

Alum was once very common as styptic pencils men used to stop bleeding after shaving. So it is less aggressive and less allergenic than safety pickle, but a hot solution if splashed could still injure your face and eyes.

You still need to take the usual precautions if there are children around: Keep the cooker well away from the edge of the work surface and keep the electric lead out of reach, so it cannot be pulled. Dennis.

[mizgeorge]

I also use Alum, also in a very cheap (sub £10) slow cooker - and yes, it does like to be hot.

I reckon on about two tablespoons to a half litre of hot water for the initial mix. I top up with water as it evaporates and bung in a bit of extra alum if it seems to be getting less effective. I'm afraid I'm very lazy and probably only make up a fresh mix a couple of times a year. I keep my saturated (very blue) solution for plating any visible solder seams on copper. The time it takes to pickle varies hugely depending on how much work there is to do (ie how blackened the piece going in is), the temperature and the size. It won't destroy precious metal, but will dissolve ferrous metals, which is useful if you get a drill bit stuck in a bit of silver (for example).

There are other alternatives, including citric acid, vinegar and salt, coca cola and cillit bang, as well as various 'safer' pickles now being sold, but Alum has been working beautifully for me for years and is cheap, so I stick with it.

[Katrina]

Thank you all for you help, I think I am definitely going with the alum. I,m going to argos to purchase a slow cooker tomorrow they do a small one for 9.99.
This might sound silly but where do you guys buy your alum? I have seen some in indian groceries for really cheap is that the right alum?

[mizgeorge]

Yes, Asian groceries or online chemists are usually the best bet.

[Katrina]

Thanks George! I have been holding off soldering as I didnt have anyway of pickling! I have can now attempt my bezel setting

[Petal]

Hi Katrina,
I also use alum and get mine from here.. http://www.georgeweil.com/ProductDet...el3=0&PID=4512

[Katrina]

Hi Katrina,
I also use alum and get mine from here.. http://www.georgeweil.com/ProductDet...el3=0&PID=4512

Thank you petal, looks like a lot of bang for your buck

[theresa]

I also like Alum and use it in a stainless steel saucepan on the hob on simmer (no children or pets) It seems to work quite quickly (minutes only)
I get it from Boots, (you have to order it) the last batch cost £8 for 500g (2 years ago it was only £4!) J M Loveridge in Andover are the distributors.

Happy Christmas everyone
Theresa