Oxidizing...

[Former_Member]

Hi!
I wan't to know what are the wire that can be oxidize. Actually I'm a newbie in this domain! If somebody can talk about that it will be appreciated!
Thanks in advance!

[dotandsmilesart]

Wow! Great shop :)
I'm pretty sure you can oxidize sterling silver, brass and copper, as long as they aren't coated with anything.

[Former_Member]

Good question creationseclectik , you could use any of the metals salemplus2
listed. I don't oxidize my jewelry but I can surly see it's charm ! Especially with wire weaving designs. I found this blog post,you might find it helpful ;-)

http://www.beadingdaily.com/blogs/daily/archive/2009/01/19/the-abcs-of-oxidizing-jewelry.aspx

[Former_Member]

Hi! Wow thank you both for answering my question so fast! Thank for the link too.
I read a lot on the subject but I never found an answer on the fact that: should I oxidize my wire before making, for example, a pendant or can I oxidize it with gemstones.
I'm sorry, I hope you understand me, english is not my primary language!
Thank you so much for all your help in this team discussions!

[Former_Member]

HI!

You asked:
" should I oxidize my wire before making, for example, a pendant or can I oxidize it with gemstones."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For the most part you can oxidize the entire piece including gemstones when it is completed.

Personally the only time I would consider oxidizing the wire before creating the item is if I were going to be using very soft gemstones like turquoise, malachite, chrysacolla, pearls, amber etc ... and even then it would be on a case by case basis depending on the application and the size and shape of the stones.

With any of the softer stones you would need to be very careful when polishing the silver to achieve the highs and lows in it's color whether you oxidize before or after creating the item so that the stone doesn't become damaged or scratched in the process.


Hope that helps ... :)

[FashionWire]

I think the only thing I ever had trouble with when oxidizing is fresh water pearls. Everything else is ok, so long as you don't soak them in the solution for a long time.

[FashionWire]

Actually, I have a written tutorial on oxidizing that I offer for free on jewelrylessons.com. If you want a copy, email me at ctescar-mail@yahoo.com, and I'll send it to you :)

Connie

[Former_Member]

tescar says:

I think the only thing I ever had trouble with when oxidizing is fresh water pearls. Everything else is ok, so long as you don't soak them in the solution for a long time.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yes, I agree ...

And the stronger the solution the quicker you can gain deep black color to avoid long soak times. Also the warmer the LOS solution the better but then you have to be cautious about dunking in cool/room temperature gemstones to reduce the risk of cracks/shatters in the gem ...

I've always found it's something that is easy to do but I think that everyone has to find the technique that suits them and that they are comfortable with ... much like soldering or anything else, we all have our own tips/tricks that work for us.

"Trial and error" is a fantastic learning tool as long as you have some direction to begin with! I've learned soooo much that way, plus I find experiments fun ...


Nice that you put together a tut on it. I did one at one point for using boiled egg in place of LOS ...

:)

[Former_Member]

Fascinating...thanks for the info gravelroadjewelry and tescar :-)
tescar -please feel free to start a link telling about your wire tutorials,I'm sure there are some Wire Geeks on here that would totally be interested,I'd love to see your oxidizing tutorial too....

[Former_Member]

Oh wow!
Thank you so much tescar and gravelroadjewelry for your infos and hints! You're all great! I've been searching for a long time these answers concerning gemstones in the process of oxidizing and the process itself! I'm from Montreal, Canada and I have to buy my LOS from the U.S because I couldn't find a beading store who was selling it. So it was also hard to find someone doing this process here too! So I'm glad I've been invited to this team!
Tescar I'll go immediately writing you an email to have a copy of your tutorial. Thank you so much for sharing it!

Everyone you've been a great help to me and surely others! I'll try those hints from you and your tutorial and I'll get back to you with the results!

Thank to all of you!

Lyne H.

[Former_Member]

Great hints and tips. One other thing I'll pass on, if you're using Opals in your design, always oxidize the wire before. Why? Opals tend to crack in too much heat and you will loose that beautiful iridescent color from it if does. I say this from experience from when I used to do gem cutting and one of my opals cracked, it was horrid trying to find another opal to work with!

Another idea instead of LOS too is the hard boiled egg method. It works well too.

Just a thought or two.
Cheers

[Former_Member]

Thanks CelticCrossing,good to know. Love this thread,will defiantly do some oxidizing myself when I try learning some wire weaving techniques down the road.

[TheRelicShoppe]

I would just throw out there too that you should be careful with amazonite and malachite. Amazonite is sensitive to heat and chemicals, and malachite has a very low Mohs' hardness (I've chipped it just by brushing it with my pliers). I don't usually oxidize my pieces, but it sounds like something I might try in the future.

[RichKnobSales]

Try fuming instead of soaking. I am doing some patina tests with ammonia and salt on copper. Very happy so far - not sure how to seal it, though!

http://www.facebook.com/richknobsales#!/richknobsales a few pics on my page :))

[sarahndippity]

I love working with LOS and don't feel my jewelry is complete until it has been oxidized. I have tried using LOS on brass with little success, but copper, sterling silver and fine silver works beautifully. I like throwing my jewelry in a tumbler for a final polish so I design my jewelry so I can insert the gems in after the final polishing from the tumbler.

[JewelryByGaladryl]

Brass does not oxidize for me either :( , I read that when you blacken it together with copper it won't do it, but even on its own it has not intention to turn dark, at least not for me.

[Former_Member]

Hi everyone!
I followed carefully all your instructions on oxidizing and here my results, I'm so happy, I hope you'll like them!

http://www.etsy.com/listing/85380475/wire-wrapped-red-garnet-with-oxydized

http://www.etsy.com/listing/85380804/wire-wrapped-blue-topaz-earring-with

Thanks to all of you for your great help!
Have a nice day!

[Former_Member]

Awesome Lyne! They look great,I'll be looking up this thread when I want to oxidize something too :-)

[JewelryByGaladryl]

They look fab, the oxidizing really makes the stones sparkling.

[Former_Member]

Thought I would bump this thread back up,just cuz just thought it was an awesome read,I'll let ya'll know when I get around to oxidizing something =)

[Former_Member]

Does anybody know anything about metal smithing? I'm thinking about taking my rings to the next level.

Does anybody out there solder rings? What do you need to start this process for a beginner?

Thanks in advance!
Jessica

[Former_Member]

Jessica,you might want to start a fresh thread with that question so you have a better chance of someone who uses solder seeing it. No idea on my part, but I'm sure there is a wire geek out there who does ;-) I would like to know how for my jump rings and hoops too,would be useful

[Former_Member]

Hi Lyne:

I am also in Canada and I just ordered my first Liver of Sulphur online from a place in Toronto. I order many of my supplies from the US, but had concerns about having a chemical shipped. The place I ordered from was http://www.lacytools.ca/ and I received my order in 3 days (another benefit of ordering locally). Laurie

[Former_Member]

I'm giving this thread a bump up,was just reading over it,going to try some oxidizing myself soon =) !