What are other alternative to metal working to clean it up after soldering on the metal? Can you make your own pickle solution?

Liver of Sulfur (LOS) isn't for cleaning up work after soldering. LOS is for blackening the surface of silver.

For a pickle, there is a swimming pool chemical that can be used. I forget the exact name, tho.

???? Liver of sulphur and pickle are used for two completely different things.

Liver of sulphur is used to oxidize sterling silver (i.e. tarnish it); generally, it's used to emphasize recessed designs (Bali beads, for instance). If you don't want to use liver of sulphur (it does kinda stink!), there are other chemical products such as Silver Black available but that turns the silver totally black and doesn't allow you to play with colours the was LOS does. If you want a natural alternative to LOS, do an advanced search of this forum for "egg" - there are been TONS of posts on this in the past few months.

Now, if you want to clean up your piece after soldering, then you're talking about pickle. Pickle is a mild acidic solution that removes any remaining flux gunk after you've soldered. In my experience, pickle will also remove MILD discolouration. However, if you've truly firescaled your silver, then pickle won't help. I accidentally got bleach on a silver bracelet and the only thing that removed the resulting black stain from the deep recesses was a 20 minute soak in hot pickle. (Pickle works faster if it's hot.)

Commercial pickle is available from any jeweller's supply store - Sparex is the brand that comes to mind. PH Down is a great substitute - many think it's superior to Sparex and it's definitely cheaper. PH Down is available anywhere pool and spa supplies are sold. If you want to go natural, I've heard of people using vinegar or lemon juice but I suspect that they'd take longer to work than Sparex or PH Down.

HTH

PS - I'm talking about STERLING SILVER here. If you're using a different metal, then none of this may apply.

for safe pickling, you can use water and a citric acid crystal soulution
or vinegar and a tablespoon of salt heated in a crock. it works, though not as fast as chemical solutions.

thank you all who answer my question on los an pickleing.[:)]

Water, Citric Acid, vinegar, salt, that's basically what we use (not in that particular order). It's environmentally friendly and safe (especially if you're particularly clumsy like me.) [:D]

--Pam

Does any one know the recipe for using PH Down

QUOTE: Originally posted by cathadina44 Does any one know the recipe for using PH Down

I add about a teaspoon of pH down to about a cup of hot water.

For those of you that use vinegar, salt and water; can you share the recipe. Are there specific measurements? I have young kids and would much rather use that than a chemical solution.

Jen

Pickle, the swimming pool solution is Bisodiumsulfate, and need to be netralized before being disposed of. To get rid of stuborn fire scale, depletion gilde the peice(raise the fine silver) or get a recipe for PRIPS flux and use it every time the object is being soldered, will make for less fire scale. Prips needs to be applied with a mouth atomizer all over a heated peice before final soldering. Thanks for the tip on natural pickles.

Alternative to liver of sulfur, Black Max or Lamp Black, at the local stained glass supply place.

I'm with you on the safest bet (and cheap!!)

I just use about 6 oz. of white vinegar and dump in some table salt, then do my best to dissolve it. I don't heat it at all. I leave the sterling in this concoction for about 10-30 minutes then rinse and dry it, and if there's any weird stuff left on the metal it's softer after the soak and I can usually buff it off either with my finger or 0000 steel wool.

Jessica

QUOTE: Originally posted by emmaraydesigns I'm with you on the safest bet (and cheap!!) I just use about 6 oz. of white vinegar and dump in some table salt, then do my best to dissolve it. I don't heat it at all. I leave the sterling in this concoction for about 10-30 minutes then rinse and dry it, and if there's any weird stuff left on the metal it's softer after the soak and I can usually buff it off either with my finger or 0000 steel wool. Jessica

I'm going to try this. I assume that this is safe for any gemstone beads that are attached?

Milli ;-)

oneshining -

What is PRIPS flux? Would you use it in addition to or in place of an alcohol/boric acid solution or cuprinol (which I may have totally spelled wrong, but hopefully you know what I'm getting at)?

Mollie

QUOTE: Originally posted by oneshining Prips needs to be applied with a mouth atomizer

Ummmm no.
Funny it works just fine for me using a syringe or even just dipping it in.