Mokume gane patina wearing off

Hello,

After using Baldwin’s Patina on a cleaned Copper/Argentium Silver
Mokume Gane ring, I noticed that just after a day or two of wear
that most of the dark patination on the copper I achieved begins to
fade into a sort of caramel-brown color.

Is there anything I can do to keep the dark patina on the copper?

Thanks for your help and Happy Turkey Day!

Is there anything I can do to keep the dark patina on the copper? 

Don’t wear it. There are no patinas for copper that will stand up to
ring wear. Secon problem, the copper is going to dissolve due to
galvanic corrosion. How fast will depend on a whole fist full of
variables but if you wear it every day in a year or so you will see
major loss of the copper.

James Binnion
James Binnion Metal Arts

Hi James,

Don't wear it. There are no patinas for copper that will stand up
to ring wear. Secon problem, the copper is going to dissolve due to
galvanic corrosion. 

Would the addition of 5% gold in that copper reduce the degradation?

Regards Charles A.

Would the addition of 5% gold in that copper reduce the
degradation? 

Shakudo, 95% copper 5% gold will self patinate on the hand but it
will also continue to dissolve due to electrolysis so it is not
really a solution for the long term.

James Binnion
James Binnion Metal Arts

Shakudo, 95% copper 5% gold will self patinate on the hand but it
will also continue to dissolve due to electrolysis so it is not
really a solution for the long term. 

That is a bit disappointing.

I suppose it’s okay for things that don’t come into contact with
skin or water, like a tsuba or a pot.

Wonder is a sacrificial anode would do the trick? Just a small piece
of metal that could be replaced when it wears out.

Regards Charles A.

The only thing I can think of that will give you a long lasting
protective coating is to plate the finished piece with legor’s Kliar
nano ceramic electro plating. They have a clear coating that is very
good. It also has a added advantage of making the piece hydro
allergenic. I do not know how long it will last on a ring but my
test on things like money clips have been very good.

The only thing I can think of that will give you a long lasting
protective coating is to plate the finished piece with legor's
Kliar nano ceramic electro plating. They have a clear coating that
is very good. It also has a added advantage of making the piece
hydro allergenic. I do not know how long it will last on a ring but
my test on things like money clips have been very good. 

Kliar is a interesting new product and the test results I have seen
would indicate that on anything but rings it would be a reasonable
coating to prevent tarnish or corrosion. But there is just not any
coating that can stand up to the daily abuse a ring sees for very
long.

James Binnion
James Binnion Metal Arts

I agree with James here. In the day I have seen nickel plating over
silver and then rhodium. try sizing this type of ring. saw in coming
from Mervyn’s. what a nightmare. They just couldn’t understand why it
cost them so much to size these rings. No matter what kind of finish
you put on a ring it wears off one way or another. brush or stone
finishes where down to burnishing and polished rings get scratched.
Rhodium rings lose their rhodium and gold plating wears off the same.
There are ways to make it stay longer but not forever.

Russ
The Jewelry CAD Institute

Will a copper-silver mixture erode if this is part of a pendant?
Will copper or bronze soldered to silver erode just as quickly?

Will a copper-silver mixture erode if this is part of a pendant?
Will copper or bronze soldered to silver erode just as quickly? 

In first year I made my son a 90/10 bronze and fine silver ring.

Pretty horrible by my standards today, but the Mokume was pretty
nice.

It hasn’t degraded yet, but my son doesn’t wear it much either :wink:

Regards Charles A.

Will a copper-silver mixture erode if this is part of a pendant? 

If it is constantly getting wet then yes but most pendants don’t get
wet very often so it will not be a problem.

Will copper or bronze soldered to silver erode just as quickly? 

If they are made into rings then yes, for most other jewelry this is
not a problem

James Binnion
James Binnion Metal Arts