Raising Fine Silver

[75032...@compuserve.com]

Does anyone out there perform a process called "raising fine
silver?" It is supposed to help prevent tarnishing on sterling.
But I don't seem to have much luck with it. Advice?

[Ray Page]

Everything that I do I raise up fine silver on the surface. By doing
this the exposed surface is more and almost fully resistant to
oxidation. It takes a little time, but is well worth the effort. The
finished piece also has a much richer look from polishing, but you have
to be a little more careful in the final polishing in order to not cut
through to the sterling base under neath the fine silver on top. If the
finished piece is then kept in a zip lock bag, piece will go a long time
before and noticeable amount of black appears on the surface.

[Tom Annear]

G'day all,

When I was a student it was common practice to
'bring up fine silver' - usually this was done by a process
of warming with a torch,
quenching in pickle,
bristle brushing with detergent
and repeating the process fifteen or twenty times.

Another way to do it is to simmer the piece in a
weak swimming pool acid solution in a covered
pyrex container for a couple of hours then scratch
brush it with detergent.

When done properly, this process will give a lovely soft
white fine silver surface which is very durable.

Hope this helps,

Regards

Tom

[Halfdan Hansen]

Further to Tom's good info.

The secret is to have freshly made 12% sulphuric acid. Make sure the
acid is warm (just below boiling - So make sure you have an extractor fan
or are wearing a mask). Then heat the item to pink and quench in the
acid. Remove as soon as quenched (since leaving the item longer make no
difference to the fine silver layer, but allows the acid time to start
attackiing any solder. Then with a fine brass scratch brush and a
solution of soap or detergent (just a drop of soap in water to act
as lubricant) lightly brush the item being careful to only remove the
white frosting (use a light touch if you grind any further you will
remove the fine silver).

Repeat ten times (or more depending on the quality of your solder
joints).

Jens Hansen
Jens Hansen - Gold & Silversmith
320 Trafalgar Square
Nelson 7001
NEW ZEALAND
han...@central.co.nz