QuestionHello,
I am just starting to learn soldering. I tried to solder a ring I have that I believe/d to be silver, but when I put the torch to it, it turned black from the flame and the ring was ruined. What do you think was the problem? Are there metals that cannot be soldered? I'd like to work with antique jewelry repair, but obviously don't want to ruin the pieces. I'd be grateful for any quidance you could give me.
Thanks so much for your help.
Very best,
Stacey
AnswerHello Stacey,
Its quite commonplace for silver to go blasck when it is being soldered..
You say that the ring was ruined, was this because it went black or did the metal melt?
If it only wnet black it should be possible to polish it back to lustre, however there are many plating/coatings that are put on silver so you will have to remove this in the polishing process.
When soldering, make sure that the area is well covered with flux. This inhibits oxidation and thus assists with the flow of the solder.
Also you want to be using the smallest possible flame and almost stroke the piece with it. Jewellery is a delicate process and should be approached that way. Aslo both sides of the joint should be precosely the same heat colour, otherwise the solder wont be drawn into the joint.....it works by capillary action.
WIthout knowing the intricacies of what your piece looked like its really hard to say what may be the base metal and what the occurence was caused by.
Send me a pic if you like to pjcoombs@bold.net.au
Thanks, good luck and cheers, Peter
