Expert: Thomas - 12/29/2004

Question
Hello! I have just started experimenting with Liver of Sulfur. I was under the impression that once the solution is applied and you have achieved the look you want, you can then go over the jewelry with a polishing cloth to remove the some of the darkness.....but this is not working for me. After using a silver polishing cloth...the piece still looks the same! Any ideas?
Thank you!
Cassandra

Answer
Hi, Cassandra.

Thanks for this question.  Liver of Sulfur is an excellent agent for antiquing of silver items.  In fact, this is my personal choice when I want an aged look or want to emphasize the contrast of highlights and certain low areas in the jewelry item. I like to call the process “patination”, application of a patina, rather than antiquing since to make it “look old” is not always the idea.  We are looking for a striking and pleasing contrast in the metal and liver of sulfur does that job well.

As well as liver of sulfur works, there are some technical problems you will run into, such as removing the dark from areas where you don't want it.  Generally the coating and chemical reaction from the solution is a bit too deep for a simple polishing cloth to remove.  This is an applied “tarnish” coloring; advanced tarnishing you might call it.  Sulfur in the air and in the environment in general causes much of the natural darkening of sterling silver objects.  By using liver of sulfur, we increase the speed of the darkening and are able to control it to some degree.  One problem occurs when the darkening from the solution is simply where we do not want the silver to be patinaed.

Before getting directly to you question on removing the stuff from highlights and other areas, I will briefly run through how I personally apply liver of sulfur.  This is likely what you already know but it won't hurt to include here.

USING LIVER OF SULFUR.
The prime considerations in using liver of sulfur to patina silver include cleanliness of the silver.  Cleanliness of the silver item is the first consideration.  The item should be cleaned thoroughly in an ultrasonic or by other means to be certain no oils, finger prints, polishing residue (rouge) are on the item.  Even the smallest trace of oils or waxes from polishes will prevent the chemical from doing a good job in darkening the silver.  Even a good final wipe with denatured alcohol is a good idea before applying the chemical.

Application of liver of sulfur varies with the results intended and how much clean-up work you want to take on!   I do not know if you make jewelry or are putting the patina on items you have.  If you make jewelry, keep in mind that the very white areas from silver jewelry removed from a “pickle pot” are mostly “fine” silver.  The acid in the pickle removes the oxides and what is left on the surface is closer to pure silver than the rest of the item.  Fine silver reacts much more slowly to liver of sulfur and in some cases will not darken at all!  For this situation, use an abrasive like tripoli or a scratch brush to remove the white and expose the sterling underneath. The copper content is sterling is important in allowing liver of sulfur to react and make the patina dark and uniform.

Controlling the areas to be darkened may be a problem.  Some folks simply place the entire piece in the solution then buff off the highlights.  I prefer to use a tooth pick or cotton swab to place the solution where I want it.  Still, there are overruns and areas to be cleaned up and patina removed.  For that, I use a brush with tripoli in a flex shaft machine or other rotary tool.   The action must be soft and controlled or too much is removed or too much is left.  Follow-up with black or red rouge then clean mostly by hand, using a soft cloth or brush with a good liquid detergent.  Cleaning in an ultrasonic machine will sometimes remove all the patina.  You can try it and see what happens.  Sometimes ultrasonic cleaning works just fine if done for a short period of time.

I don't know if you have a rotary tool, like a Dremel or a flex shaft.  These tools make clean up easy.  You can use a small silicone rubber polishing wheel to hit the highlights and the dark will be removed.  Wash by hand with detergent to see what is actually removed and what is simply polish residue.

REMOVING PATINA WITH A POLISHING CLOTH.
There is one polishing cloth that will do the best job of removing the patina from unwanted areas.  This is not the perfect answer but the particular cloth works best in my experience.  Most “silver cloths” will not do a good job.  Try the “sunshine cloth” sold by Rio Grande.  The address for Rio on the web is  www.riogrande.com

These cloths are available at some jewelry stores.  Both jewelry stores or good crafts stores likely have a Rio account and can order the cloth for you.  You can buy directly from Rio but the catalog is not on line and I do not know the minimum order requirements.  If your are into silver work, a good idea is  to get a Rio catalog (available to request on line).

Abrasive Cloths.
Some jewelers will use a fine steel wool which leaves a sort of satin finish next to the patina.  With some jewelry designs this is a good approach.  It is your choice to have a satin finish or not.   I recommend instead of extra fine steel wool that you try a synthetic steel wool.  Synthetic steel wool is simply a version of the common “Scotchbrite” pad.  Wood workers supplies will have the material in the very fine grades.  “Scotchbrite” in the kitchen form is much to coarse for this silver work.


Cassandra, I do hope this answer helps.  If you need more specific info or have more to add, do not hesitate to use the “follow-up” option to continue.  If you have a more involved question, please save this answer and ask a new question for a clean page.
I should be home in the evenings after work to get back to you.  Wow! The holiday Christmas season is still going on for jewelers!   We will be busy for couple of weeks more.  Do enjoy your silver work and experiments with liver of sulfur.   A bit of color here and there sometimes will make all the difference in how a piece of silver jewelry looks to the eye.  How it “looks to the eye” is much of what jewelry is all about in the first place.  Write again if you need to. That will be fine with me.

God Bless and Peace.  Have a wonderful new year.       Thomas.       12/29/2004 8:28 PM