[Jewelry making - Article 00021] - Re: [Orchid] Tumbler turning jewelry black

[Karen Goeller]

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Karen,

    Likely, not enough water and too long a run time. For steel shot, I
    rarely let it go more than an hour, and I make sure there's a lot of
    water in there... not "just enough to cover." 

    Good news - to clear it up quickly and beautifully, pour Coke (flat
    or otherwise, both work just fine) over the shot and silver and
    tumble the whole thing for about 45 minutes. Rinse and wash in clear
    water. It will be like new! 

    Also, if your new tumbler barrel is black rubber (like a Harbor
    Freight tumbler) and "stinky," you may just want to give it a good
    tumble with shot and Coke and let it run for about 2 hours (NO PIECES
    IN IT) to get the manufacturing "goo" off the inside of the rubber
    barrel. Wash well with soap and water and allow to dry, then use as
    normal. I'm really not a fan of the black rubber barrels as they seem
    to be reactive with a lot of things and to gunk up more easily than
    the hard plastic barrels. 

    If you have a flat rotary style tumbler and are having problems with
    the barrel, the other thing you might want to try is a plastic
    mayonnaise or peanut butter jar... roughly the same diameter, but
    none of the reactivity. Also much easier to open and cheaper to
    replace :-). 

Hope this helps!

Karen Goeller
No Limitations Designs
Hand-made, one-of-a-kind jewelry
www.nolimitations.com
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