[Jewelry making - Article 00128] - Re: [Orchid] Gold plating fine silver for enameling

[Thackeray Taylor]

========[ Invite a Friend - http://www.ganoksin.com/invite.htm  ]========

Dear Jennifer and all,

>     talked to the folks at CIM in Tucson regarding whether I need to
>     pen plate with nickel first. Because according to the plating book
>     it said I needed to. But, when talking the guy selling and
>     representing the Midas Plating system from Rio he said No I should
>     be able to just plate directly over the sterling or fine silver
>     and he showed me how to do it. 

    I'm perplexed as to why you were told that and I apologize for any
    miss information you received. I know that because space is limited
    at shows and for instant gratification we will sometimes skip the
    nickel plating and go straight to gold. Perhaps we should revisit
    that to prevent any future confusion. 

    As far as plating gold directly over sterling, fine silver, brass,
    copper, etc, yes you can do that. However the problem occurs when
    the item either oxidizes or there is bleed through. When the parent
    metal eventually oxidizes it will show through the single layer of
    plating as a gray stain or discoloration. Bleed through typically
    happens when you have soldered and pickled the item, the microscopic
    pores in the metal and solder seams retain some pickle, then when
    the item is warmed up the pickle expands and leaches out creating
    spotting, or small discoloration spots, possibly leading to worse
    results over time. A nickel preplate will help prevent these
    situations. 

>     Here is another question. You want to enamel over plating? Can we
>     do that without burning the plating off? 

    As far as plating prior to enameling, I can't find any concrete
    evidence it is worth while. Risky at best in my opinion, and after
    reading Jim Binnion's post it doesn't seem likely to work out. I'd
    be interested in hearing others experiences on this subject. 

    It's good to back home in beautiful NM! 

Sincerely,

Thackeray Taylor
Rio Grande Technical Support
800-545-6566
505-839-3000 ex 13903
technicalsupport AT tbg.riogrande.com
____________________________________________________________________
T h e   O r c h i d   L i s t
Open Electronic Forum for Jewelry Manufacturing Methods and Procedures
____________________________________________________________________
Orchid FAQ:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/faq.htm
Orchid Archives:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/archive
Orchid Galleries:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/gallery.htm
Invite a Friend:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/invite.htm
____________________________________________________________________
Tips From The Jeweler's Bench - Article Archive
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/tip_sear.htm
The Jeweler's Selected Bibliography List
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/jewelry-books
Buy Orchid Jewelry:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/shop
____________________________________________________________________
-Unsubscribe:
-Email: orchid-request AT ganoksin.com Body=unsubscribe subject=blank
____________________________________________________________________