Tarnishing Sterling Silver

Liver of sulphur is also used by rubber stampers to put a patina on
copper sheeting that's been embossed or stamped on. I bought a 4 oz
bottle for $5 from a local rubber stamp store, so you might want to try
looking there.

Karin

Charlie wrote:

I've designed a sterling silver bracelet made from twisted wire and would
like to tarnish it so that it goes black in the cracks of the twists,
similar to the look found on bali silver beads. I've read that the thing to
use is "liver of sulphur". Now, I can't find this for sale in the UK, and
boyfriend doesn't really want me to have toxic chemicals in the house as we
don't have good ventilation. I've also been recommended "Silver Black" by
an American friend, but alas - I can't find that either. Someone else told
me vinegar would work. Now, I can see that it would, as obviously vinegar
tarnishes silver, but how exactly would I go about doing it? Just dunk the
whole bracelet into the vinegar and then polish it up? How durable do you
think this finish would be, and how black should it go? I was wondering if
anyone has any experience before I go wasting expensive wire!

Thanks,

Charlie.

Well, maybe I was searching for the wrong thing. Maybe it didn't come up
because it's a.com website and they don't always show in UK specific
searches. I don't know. Thanks for the info though, although it's a little
pricy, and I don't think I can use this as I don't have adequate ventilation
(1st floor flat, two windows that open). The home made recipes I think
might be better.

Charlie.

"Abrasha" wrote in message
...
Charlie wrote:

I've designed a sterling silver bracelet made from twisted wire and
would
like to tarnish it so that it goes black in the cracks of the twists,
similar to the look found on bali silver beads. I've read that the
thing to
use is "liver of sulphur". Now, I can't find this for sale in the UK,


You just don't know how to use the Net

http://www.silveralchemy.com/tools.html, at a nosebleed price!

Next time, I'll charge you for doing a search for you. My charge is
$125.00
per
hour with a four hour minimum.

Abrasha
http://www.abrasha.com

On Fri, 13 Feb 2004 18:26:40 -0800, in rec.crafts.jewelry "Charlie"
wrote:

Well, maybe I was searching for the wrong thing. Maybe it didn't come up
because it's a.com website and they don't always show in UK specific
searches. I don't know. Thanks for the info though, although it's a little
pricy, and I don't think I can use this as I don't have adequate ventilation
(1st floor flat, two windows that open). The home made recipes I think
might be better.

Charlie.

Liver of sulphur is a little smelly, but the you're not generating fumes that
are especially dangerous in the low concentrations you'll get from mixing up a
solution. No different from other kitchen smells you might have to deal with
for which you might also flip on the kitchen vent fan. Does your bathroom have
a fan if your kitchen does not? that would be quite enough. Barring that,
just do it next to that open window if you like. Personally, I've never
worried about any ventilation with just liver of sulphur. Doesn't seem to
warrant it. Not like, for example, the flux fumes you can get when soldering,
or acid fumes from pickle. Now, I'm sure someone with an eye for details will
read this, and go look up the fact that probably the smell is hydrogen
sulphide, and then find MSDS forms which will correctly show that this is a
highly toxic gas, and get all upset at my above statements. But the truth of
the matter is that the amount of hydrogen sulphide you can generate by
dissolving some liver of sulphur in water, and boiling or just heating the
solution to use it, is almost an indetectably low level. Your nose is pretty
good at picking up even those low levels, so you'll smell it, though just a
little. But trust me on this. That low level is not a safety concern in the
amounts you need to use to oxidize your silver. Now, if you're mixing up ten
gallon tanks of this stuff in a small space and leaving it there and open while
you work for long periods, then the story may change. But when you oxidize
your silver, you'll have only a smaller container, and you'll only need be
using it for the short time it takes to warm it up and treat the metal.

As to price, yes, liver of sulphur is a bit costly. Never understood why, but
there it is. The price on that british web site is not that different from the
prices charged here in the U.S. from many mainstream suppliers. here, the
standard in the jewelry supply houses ia can with, if I recall, 8 ounces or so
(well, maybe it's a pound. dunno. about a cup full, at any rate, or the dry
chunk form of the chemical) That's from Grobet, which of course jacks up the
price over getting it from a chemical supply house. but the retail price
several suppliers will charge you for that Grobet can is about 25 bucks or so.
Ouch. All of which is a good reason to try and find lime sulpur. Also worth
remembering is that mixed solutions of liver of sulphur degrade fairly quickly.
After a couple days, maybe a week, they're pretty dead, even if kept out of the
light (which degrades it quickly) Even the dry chemcial degrades if exposed
to moisture or humidity, turning from a rich dark brown color to a pale
greenish/brownish yellow color, at which point it's not very useful. The lime
sulphur seems more stable. I seem to recall that lime sulphur is based on
calcium sulphides, while liver of sulphur is potassion sulphides. Not sure why
the calcium salts would be more stable, but since it's the sulphur that's doing
the work, both chemicals would seem appropriate to our uses.

Peter