Monday, March 21, 2011

Week 10-Solder Inlay and an Accidental Patina




How did I get two weeks behind? These pieces were done the same day as the etching class. I made them specifically so I would have impressions in the copper to inlay with silver solder. I found it a little tricky to get the right amount of solder in the grooves. If you get too much in, you end up with a lot of filing to do. If you don't get enough in, it's harder to get it to fill the area which is what happened in the squiggly lines pair of earrings. I moved the solder around with my pick but still didn't get it all the way to the edge in spots. The bracelet was etched with the intention of doing solder inlay on that as well. But I accidentally ended up with such a colorful patina that I didn't want to touch it. I'll describe what I did to it in case you want to try this at home but I have no idea if I can duplicate this result. For the resist I used strips of adhesive labels that were cut out with various scrapbooking scissors. Of course it went into the ferric chloride and then soaked for a few minutes in 50/50 ammonia and water. The paper came off but left a sticky residue. So I put Goo Gone on it and let it sit for a while before wiping it off. I still had some sticky residue so I then cleaned it with a soft toothbrush and Barkeeper's Friend. Rinsed it well and set it on a towel to dry. I came back later to find this rainbow of colors.

3 comments:

  1. Nancy,

    That's beautiful color! I wonder which part of the process added it. I can see why you wouldn't want to touch it!

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  2. I suspect it was something in the Barkeeper's Friend. I think I'll play around with it on some scrap copper.

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  3. solder inlay? A new process to me, it fascinating.
    Lovely patina on the last piece!

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