QuestionPlease help! I read online about making an at home jewlery cleaner using hot water, a teaspoon salt and a teaspoon of baking soda. it worked on all but 4 of my pieces of jewlery. These are all james avery rings. all 4 of the rings originially had a few places on the design where it is darker (almost black). oxidation? however, after rinsing off the cleaner, now every placce where the ring used to be dark is now a whitish cloudy color. i want to fix them but i dont know how. i hope i have not ruined these rings. any suggestions?
AnswerErica, first of all, relax and know your rings are not ruined. : )
The James Avery jewelry is very attractive and the dark in the recesses is a large part of the "look" of certain designs. The antiqued finish is either a chemical oxidation or a special type of flat black paint. Either can be replaced by a jeweler. I don't know what a jeweler in your area would charge to do the work so I recommend asking for an estimate first.
Can you do this work yourself? It is quite possible you can, using a flat black durable paint(do not get gloss, use flat black). To use the chemical process is not difficult but should be done by a jeweler who has the chemicals to make the antique color and the buffing tools to finish the rings with black only in the recesses.
TO DO IT YOURSELF WITH A PAINT
To replace the antique accent color with a paint, you need to get a small bottle of flat black paint like the sort sold in little bottles at hobby shops. This should be a fairly quick drying type. Also get a small brush and paint solvent. A flat stick like a Popsicle stick or a tad wider will also help.
First clean the rings to remove any oils from handling, etc. The easiest way is to wash quickly in dish detergent, rinse well and pat dry. Try not to handle the parts where the paint will go. When dry, be sure the paint is stirred well and with the fine point brush put just enough paint in the recesses to fill those areas. Clean the brush in the paint thinner.
Let the paint dry a little in the rings but not completely. How to know if the paint is almost dry without touching the rings? Paint a little on a scrap piece of glass, plastic, foil or other item. Use that to touch and see if the pain is just tacky and not quite dry.
Now, you need some paper which is not fuzzy. A notebook paper will work. Wrap tightly around the flat stick and put just a tiny, tiny bit of the paint thinner on the paper. Run this gently across the area where paint got out side the recess to remove that excess. Rubbing too hard might dull the silver. Depending on the sort of place the black is contained, you might need to rub gently with a soft lint free cloth to remove any excess paint. The reason for not fuzzy and lint free is so the wiping material will not go in and pull paint from the recessed area or possibly leave fuzz stuck to the paint.
Who knows, you might be good enough with a fine point brush to get the paint exactly where it needs to be and not anywhere else! I am not that good. Yes, I can set the most delicate gemstones but am only so so at painting.
Erica, best wishes with this. If you have any more concerns please feel free to use a follow-up to get back with me. If you want to rate the answer, that will help me know how I am doing on the other side of this website. Fair enough?
God Bless and Peace. Thomas.
