Liver of Sulfur question

[Former_Member]

I'm new to jewelry making, and learning as I go...just using youtube and forums, and generally experimenting. And asking lots of questions ;)

Last night I used Liver of Sulfur to oxidize a ring, but I think I left it too long/made too strong of a mixture.

My question is two parts:

1. I blackened it too much, and am actually having trouble removing the oxidation now. I tried polishing it afterwards, and noticed it was staying pretty dark but getting shiny. It was pretty but it was't what I was after. I wasn't getting a bright shine. Can anyone recommend a good tutorial on using LOS in different ways to get different effects?

2. While polishing, I realized that I small strip of twisted wire isn't fully soldered on. Its been in the pickle for hours now, and I just can't get it back to that super bright clean sterling. Now, it actually looks the way I would have wanted it to look in the first place. I am worried that the oxidation will prevent the solder from properly adhering when I go back and re-solder, but I can't seem to get it clean. Will it ever go back to that bright clean sterling color?

Thanks a bunch!

[Former_Member]

Hi, I just noticed your question. If you ask in the main chat thread, you'll get a lot more answers. Our members don't usually look at other threads very often. But I'll try to answer for you.

1. LOS oxidation should be easy to remove. Is it possible that what you're seeing is firestain? This is a darkening of the sterling under the surface that happens during soldering. Often, heating and pickling cause a thin layer of fine silver on top of the firestain. This looks bright and shiny, but is quickly removed during polishing to expose the firestain. Firestain must be removed by sanding, grinding, buffing, etc... something abrasive that removes the affected metal. (You may know all this already, but I didn't want to assume, since you say you're new.)

2. If it's firestain (which will NOT be removed by pickling), then you can solder directly on it, no problem. If it's oxidation from the LOS, pickle should remove it easily.

If you are not familiar with firestain, try an image search for "firestain" to see examples of it. Then come on over to the main chat thread to ask more questions. We won't bite! :-)