[Jewelry making - Article 00125] - Re: [Orchid] Keum boo burnishing marks

[Jayne Redman]

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    Bruce, I use a magnetic pin finisher for my production pieces to
    remove burnishing marks. You can also use a soft felt stick with
    rouge applied to the surface and rub out the marks by hand. Also
    buffing with rouge on a soft buff on your flex shaft or polishing
    lathe with light pressure is fine. Make sure all the edges of your
    keum-boo are bonded properly or they might peel up. Pumice works
    too. I used to use "Fine" before I got my magnetic finisher, which
    left a soft satin finish. I then brass brushed with warm soapy water
    to bring a higher sheen to the surface. Baking soda on a soft tooth
    brush is a little more abrasive than a brass brush and works well
    too. The finer the abrasive you use the less contrast you will get
    between the gold and silver. You might play around with different
    abrasives, scotch brite pads or steel wool for instance, until you
    get the finish you're looking for. I think Richard Mafong must have
    burnished very carefully. I would rather have to deal with the
    burnishing marks than risk not bonding the edges of the keum-boo
    well. 

    After removing the burnishing marks, re-heat the piece slowly until
    you get that frosty white finish back, then pickle. Chances are you
    will get some bubbles - less if you heat really slowly. Just burnish
    them back down (when the piece has cooled) with your fingernail or
    something soft - I use a little burnisher I have made of delrin (any
    soft plastic will do) - then pickle. 

    You shouldn't need to add layers of gold in order for the gold to be
    apparent, although you can achieve some wonderful color effects by
    keum-booing then rolling out your piece and keum-booing again in an
    overlapping pattern that allows the first layer of gold to show in
    places. The rolled out pieces take on a greenish cast compared to
    the thicker, freshly applied keum-boo. As an experiment, start with
    a thick piece of silver, 12 or 14 ga., adding more keum-boo every
    few rolls and burnishing down the bubbles as you anneal. 

    I make all of my production pieces flat to start, keum-boo, form,
    and then solder if I have to. I try to use cold connections as much
    as possible. Every time you re-heat you risk bubbling in the
    keum-boo so it is better to solder first if you can. Oxygen can pass
    through the gold if it is thin enough, causing less bubbling. Try
    rolling your keum-boo material out to .02 mm - .01 mm. 

    Tevel at Allcraft, (800)645-7124, has ordered 24K foil in both .02
    mm and .01 mm from Korea that should arrive any day. He also is
    stocking agate burnishers from Germany that are the best burnishers
    I've used for keum-boo. The gold doesn't stick to the agate like it
    would to steel. I use two, swapping off when one becomes too hot as
    they can't be  quenched in water to cool them. 

    I too would love to hear from other people about their experiences
    with this technique. 

Regards,
Jayne Redman 

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