Pickling- what's it made of??

[sandra j ziolkowski]

I'v added glass to sterling silver wire in the flame. The wire needs to be cleaned in a pickling solution. Can I make this at home? Whats the procedure?

[misfit]

its a strong acid that is kept warm. Can you make it at home. sure can. will it etch your bead. I'm sure it will if its soft glass. can you use anything else... sure, if you want to wait long enough lemon juice will work in a pinch. you do need ventalation to use pickle... but you already have excellent ventilation right??? so that would be no problem

A.

[Barrie]

Try using sodium bisulfate (swimming pool neutralizer - ph down). It needs to be warm to work well. Use about 1/4 cup to 1 litre of water. Hope this helps.

[maddog1050]

I also do silversmithing and have used a commercial pickling solution for non ferris metals in the past. These are carried by any jewelry supply company. However, there can be fume and sensitivity issues. I took a class years ago and the instructor told us that a personally and environmentally safer alternative is citric acid (sour salt). This is used in bread baking and when mixed with water and heated in a crock pot can be used as a traditional pickle--it just might take a little longer. That's what I use now. I never had any sensitivity issues around commercial pickle, but was never sure of the best way to dispose of it without messing up pipes. Probably first neutralizing with baking soda, but not sure.

I got the citric acid from kingarthurflour.com.

Hope this helps.

[RSimmons]

You can get a powdered form of pickle (Sparex) from a jewelery supply house. It's a sulfuric acid releasing compound - get it warm and put your silver in it. Just don't put any ferrous metals (anything containing iron) in it. Use copper or wooden tongs only to pick up your stuff when it's done, wash with cool water.

Robert

[sandra j ziolkowski]

Yes- you have all been helpful. I took the path of least resistance and made a stop at the pool center and bought Sodium bisulfate/ph down. Worked great.

Barrie- Is there any need to use baking soda afterwords or just rinse? I did both just to make sure. Everything came out fine.
Thanks again everyone.
Also Do I need to use good ventilation with this product?