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Question 1: My piece turns yellow after using the LOS. How can it be removed?

First of all, there was a question about the pieces becoming yellow after using the LOS. There are two things that came to mind when I read about this. The first question has to have a question of its own answered. Is the piece yellow before you put it in the LOS, but after soldering? Sometimes when I have old or contaminated pickle my pieces will develop a nasty yellow film that I deal with in a couple of ways. First, you can sand it off.... but who wants to do that? My method of choice is to neutralize and dump the spent pickle. Then I heat my piece up again, quench and dunk in a fresh batch of pickle. That usually takes care of it.

Now, if the silver piece is turning yellow after using the LOS, it would indicate that the piece hasn't been left in long enough for the chemical to make the piece really dark. Try to heat your piece with hot water and place it in the LOS again. It isn't uncommon to leave my piece in the LOS for a few minutes while the chemical works. Your LOS could be weak or cold and that also has an effect of how dark your pieces turn.

Removing the LOS patina can be done in a couple of ways. Assuming you don't have any stones set or used in the piece, you can put it in the pickle. There are also tarnish remover products that you can purchase from stores in the cleaner isle. There is a dip I like to use that is similar to Tarnex. You MUST be careful when using this product though as it can damage  your softer stones and pearls. I would suggest testing it out scraps or an old piece you don't care for first.

Question 2: How do you clean copper when it tarnishes?

Depending on how heavy and thick the oxidation is, you can use a soft toothbrush and white toothpaste, like Colgate. Depending on the type of finish the piece has you can also use a few other soft abrasives. Again, you must use caution with the abrasives when you have stones in your pieces. I really like to use a pumice powder to clean and remove excess oxidation from my pieces. But this is only the case if my piece has a soft matte finish to it in the first place.

Question 3: Is this possible to do with Silver plated wire?

Absolutely! You do need to exercise some extra caution when removing the LOS as you can easily remove the thin layer of silver plating. Gently buff the piece with the steel wool or pumice powder to remove the oxidation from the high areas of the piece.

Question 4: Can you use LOS with wire pieces?

Again, Absolutely! And it really makes your pieces pop when you do. The process is the same as the tutorial outlines. Here are a couple of my angels that show the difference in two wire pieces, one with LOS and one without.



If I want to bring a piece back into a higher "polish", particularly if it is silver plated, I would opt to throw it into a tumbler with stainless steel shot for at least 15 minutes. Again, this needs some caution if you have stones or pearls in your piece as it could damage them easily. I looked through some of my images for a better example, but gave up my search in my own pieces. There are so many examples out there of fabulous wire work that has been oxidized to bring out the details. I will keep searching.

Tip: Enhance that Rainbow

One of my good friends and talented jewelry artists told me that she will add a little ammonia and pinch of table salt to the LOS and this will really help bring out that rainbow effect. You must be aware that this effect is not permanent. It will wear away if rubbed against skin, clothing, or anything else like that. Also, the metal will continue to naturally oxidize and it will lose the effect. You can coat your piece with a clear spray or even use a wax product, but it will remove or diminish the rainbow effect as it impedes how the light hits the metal.