[Jewelry making - Article 00048] - Re: [Orchid] Ultrasonic cleaner

[Peter W . Rowe]

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>       Does anyone have any ideas why this should happen and what I can
>     do about it. 

    Cast silver, especially, will do this, especially with a more
    powerful cleaner, and clean solution.  It will do it less after youve
    used the cleaner all day and the solution is now full of polishing
    compound, since all those particles of compound are then each
    absorbing some energy....  What happens is that ultrasonic energy is
    concentrated at defects in the surface.  Usually this is just dirt,
    but silver is soft enough that when that occurs at surface porosity
    or pits, it can start to actually attack the metal.   The classic
    test of whether an ultrasonic is working right is to suspect a piece
    of aluminum foil therein for a minute or two.  when removed, it will
    be full of holes punched through the foil by the cleaner's energy. 
    Both this, and the effect of the cleaner, are graphic illustrations
    of just how powerful these machines are.  but with silver, cast
    silver especially is often just a little too soft to fully withstand
    an ultrasonic for very long.  The solution is that you're leaving
    the items in for way too long.  try ten to fifteen seconds, not ten
    minutes. and use the solution really hot.  The temperature doesn't
    increase the aggressive action upon the metal, but it lets the
    cleaner remove the polish compound a lot faster, minimizing the time
    required. 

Peter Rowe

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