[Jewelry making - Article 00143] - Re: [Orchid] Cleaning a Casting

[Greg DeMark]

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Annabel,

    This is a subject that I am sure will bring many responses since an
    entire book could be written on the subject. 

    First off, for the sake of clarity let me say that cleaning a
    casting and finishing a casting could be viewed as two separate
    ideas. 

    Cleaning a casting involves removing the investment that was used in
    the casting process and since this subject has been dealt with in
    depth lately on Orchid I will assume you would like to know how to
    finish a casting. 

    First the raw casting needs to be pickled to remove any oxides that
    remain on the surface. Second the casting is removed with a saw, 
snips
    or cut off wheel from the button and sprues. 

    From this point forward there are many different procedures for
    finishing a casting depending on the finish you would like to
    achieve. 

    You may wish to file, sand, tumble, polish, hammer, hand texture,
    burr texture, sand blast, engrave, satin finish, diamond wheel cut
    and a whole list of other possibilities. 

    You must first know what you want your finished pieces to look like
    and then you can choose the procedures that are needed. 

    If you don't want to purchase any equipment to do the finishing
    process than a possibility would be to buy a set of files and various
    grits of sand paper and emery paper from coarse to very fine and work
    the piece to a satin finish and then buff.

Good Luck

Greg DeMark
If You Like Antique, Vintage or Custom Jewelry
Visit us on the web at:
www.demarkjewelry.com
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