Hand Finishing Your Metal Jewelry (Without the Pickle Pot)

If, like me, you're a jewelry hobbyist/crafter and not a full-time jeweler with plenty of cool tools, or are on a limited budget and don't want to buy a whole lot of new "stuff" for your metalsmithing hobby, or--as is my case--are not a big fan of toting around a pot of bubbling acid to clean your metal work, then this little Tuesday "tools" blog is for you!

Today, we'll discuss how to make your metal go from this:

Here is a blackened piece of 14 gauge copper wire that has been torch soldered with a small butane torch.  The black surface discoloration is called "fire scale" (a misnomer, actually, since true "fire scale" occurs both above AND beneath the surface of the metal).  Surface discoloration occurs as a result of oxidation.

Scale or surface discoloration happens to "most" jewelry grade metals when torched, and must be cleaned in order to look like this...

This is the same 14 gauge copper wire, hammered and then cleaned to a gleaming, coppery shine.  I've added a few additional bands because one is the loneliest number...

So how did I make it go from "black" to highly polished copper in just about 15 minutes (for all four bands)?

There are basically two common methods to cleaning metals.  The first involves the use of something called "pickle", which is absolutely NOT something you'd ever want to pour over cucumbers, but is, in fact, an acid used to "eat" the discoloration from your metal. "Pickle" can be purchased from a jewelry supplier like Rio Grande or made from a number of acidic items (vinegar, sparex, citric acid, pH minus, etc.) and is warmed in a "pickle pot" or crock pot that won't be used for food at a later date.  (By the way, my favorite pickle is 2 cups vinegar to 1 tablespoon salt--it's not the fastest method of pickling, but it is the most environmentally "friendly" version)  Pickle solution works fastest when its warm, but any acidic solution will eventually clean the metal.  Soldering expert Kate Richbourg, in a pinch, uses a common household cleaner called "Penny Brite" (which can be used on your copper pots) to clean her copper metal after torching, so there are convenient alternatives to a hot bubbling pot of pickle.  After taking any item out of the "pickle pot", it's best to dunk it into a container of water containing baking soda to neutralize the reaction of the acid.

The second method, and the one that is the most "portable", is the use of abrasives to hand polish your metals.  Hand polishing takes longer to clean the metal, but the abrasives available today are SO good at their intended task that it doesn't take much time at all to polish even larger projects.  Also--silly me--but I rather like to work metal with my hands and to see the high polish come forward through my own work.  And, of course, buying your own abrasive materials is incredibly easy on the pocketbook, so its one of the most affordable means to polish your metals.

So here are my "abrasive" friends for cleaning metals..

 

Above, starting from the left, my trusty Scotch Brite pad (the red one), then my 600 grit wet/dry sandpaper, my "000" (or "triple aught") steel wool, my slightly used Pro-polish pads, my Connoiser's Polishing Cloth and my favorite car metal cleaner and wax.  And, in fact, you'll use some or all of these products in roughly the same order as I've noted in the picture.  The best news--everything, with the exception of the Connoiser's polishing cloth and the Pro-Polish pads can be purchased at your local hardware store--most of it in the paint aisle.  The Scotch Brite, the sandpaper and the steel wool usually comes in some pretty large sizes, so I'll take a set of OLD scissors and cut them down to a more manageable 2x3 inch size. 

 

So here's how I will polish up my copper and metals without using the pickle.

 

1.  A Rough Start.  We'll start with the most abrasive or "scratchiest" pad to remove the oxidation.  This means, working the metal first with the red Scotch Brite pad.  Whenever I hand polish something, I try to rub the metal in only one direction.  For a ring, there's only one way to sand the metal, but for other metals, I do try to keep moving in only one direction most of the time.  Using the red pad will remove most, if not all, of the very darkest discoloration.   Here I've used the red Scotch Brite pad on only 1/2 of the ring.  Notice that the side that has been treated is now completely copper in color again, but the appearance is very matte because the abrasive is so harsh.

2.  Refining the Surface. Then it's time for the steel wool.  For most of my jewelry, I'll use the "000" steel wool, which is usually "fine" enough to remove the remainder of the oxidation from my pieces, while also "smoothing" any of the sanding marks left from the red Scotch Brite pad.  If your piece has been sawed or filed, the 000 steel wool will also smooth the ends of the cut or sawed metal so that it's smooth to the touch.  The best part is that, if you're partial to a "matte" finish on your metal, the steel wool can leave a beautiful warm matte finish to silver and copper.  It works well to remove some, but not all, of any patina you've added to the metal too.  So if you're using Liver or Sulfur (smelly...) or "LoS", using steel wool to complete a final hand finish on your patina-ed metals will brighten the high surfaces, while leaving the lower sections with a warm, slightly worked appearance.

 

3.  Final Polish.  Once the discoloration has been removed or mostly removed, if that's your preference, then it's time for the polishing that will bring up the shine to a high glossy appearance.  Starting with the Pro-Polish pad or your metal polishing cloth, buff the metal to a high shine.  These final abrasives are so fine that it will remove only the smallest portions of the metal, while disturbing very little of the metal surface. If the metal has been patinated, then the final sanding should be done with great care to prevent removing all of your patina, which both the Pro-Polish pad and the metal polishing cloth can easily do.

 

4.  Sealing and Preserving.  Since I really like a very high shine on most of my pieces (I'm not a huge "crystal" fan, but that doesn't mean I don't like the "bling), I'll use a good car metal cleaner and wax to impart the final cleaning and sealing of my metal.  For patinated metals, you can apply a spray acrylic sealer over the metal or use a metal sealant, like Renaissance Wax (available from RioGrande.com) to put a protective coating on the metal. 

 

 

If, like me, you're forever making "tool marks" on our metal, fear not, because these can be "softened" during the cleaning and finishing process.  Even if you are not "torching" your metal to a blackened state, you can use these same abrasives to sand and finish your metal work.  Several light swipes with the red Scotch Brite pad or the 600-1000 grit sand paper, will remove the "high spots" from metal "whoopsies" and can make most of the tool marks on your wire work begin to disappear.  Use the steel wool, more aggressively, to lower the profile or scratches on the metal, and then, finally, use the Pro-Polish pad, which is also an abrasive, to remove any final marks or minimize the look of any deep gouges. 

 

Once your know how to hand polish and finish your metals, you might never or hardly ever touch that pickle pot again.