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Christopher Moro Special user 793 Posts |
The black patina on my silver coins don't match across the board. Here are two things I've done to redo the patina to try to get them to match.
1.) Toothpaste Soak the coins in bleach until black. Then, right away, cover the coin with Colgate Total Toothpaste. After it's dried, rub it off with your fingers until the black comes off. Rub coins together, carry them around, let them scratch each other up so that the mirror polished silver looks more natural 2.) Wright's Silver Cream Soak the coins in bleach until black. Rub Wright's Silver Cream over the coin until the highlights come out silver and the black remains on the lower portions. Rub coins together, carry them around, let them scratch each other up so that the mirror polished silver looks more natural In every instance, however, I end up with completely silver high spots and very dark black areas that outline the higher spots. What I am unable to get is that middle tone, or those gray areas on the lower portions of the coin that do NOT outline the higher portions. And I would like to maintain that middle-tone darkness in those spots. Does anyone have any tips for getting those areas to stay gray? Hope it makes sense. This is hard to describe. P.S. - I don't want to use Steel Wool because these coins are so old and thin, I don't want to remove any more detail. Thanks in advance. |
J-Mac Inner circle Ridley Park, PA 5338 Posts |
Take a look here: http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/searc......=6112176
The photos he posted are gone but I can attest to the fact that his coins are beautiful! Jim |
Christopher Moro Special user 793 Posts |
Hi Jim,
Thanks! I do recall what those coins looked like. They had a very strong black background and a very bright silver highlight. I get the same results. What I'm looking for is that Gray color that is halfway silver halfway dark but not black. Also, I did not want to use any kind of sandpaper, nail file, or steel wool, because the coins are already so thin and worn as is. Do you or anyone else know how to maintain that color? |
J-Mac Inner circle Ridley Park, PA 5338 Posts |
Chris, I have used a fairly weak bleach and water solution. I soaked the silver coins for about 10 minutes. Then I take them out and wipe them off with a soft cloth. It's not consistent with regard to the strength of the darkening, but it does result in a gray shade. However the more I work with them the color does tend to wear off. Lately I've considered just shining all the coins I use because when darkened it can get tough to tell the silver and copper apart.
Take care, Jim |
Christopher Moro Special user 793 Posts |
Jim, that's a great idea! Thank you.
How dark did your coins get that it's hard to distinguish them from copper? Sounds like the highlights need to be polished more. |
J-Mac Inner circle Ridley Park, PA 5338 Posts |
Not that dark - I can see the color difference clearly, as can anyone close. But if performing from any distance - like a small auditorium for example - some folks cannot easily see the difference if both are pretty dark. It's similar to seeing a video with all dark coins. Ever see one where it is tough to tell which is which?
Jim |
Christopher Moro Special user 793 Posts |
Maybe if you bc darkness only around the circumference of the heads and tails to like outline the coin in black and polished most of the rest they'd stand out and be distinctive.
The spray idea got me some gray color. But polishing the high points got rid of all the gray. So I'm trying again. There's also a rainbow like color across the silver that looks odd. I'm carrying those in my pocket to see if that helps get rid of it. Thanks for the tips. |
Mobius303 Inner circle Lakewood, Ohio 1309 Posts |
Steel wool will not make them thinner unless you are using way too much pressure. I very light touch with 000 steel wool is what I have used.
The rainbow thing can happen with the bleaching. It will go away with time. Heat (body heat) seemed to lessen it over time. |
inigmntoya Inner circle DC area native, now in Atlanta 2350 Posts |
Never tried it myself, but the word I hear from silver "pros" is to use Liver of Sulphur.
I used bleach once and the darkening was more brownish than black and didn't quite match my naturally aged coins. |
Stephon Johnson Special user Razorback Country 544 Posts |
My Morgans didn't match especially my shell.
My set ended up perfect matching and gray accent low areas. I wanted to end up looking natural, soft coins. Need: (1) small bottle Liver of Sulfur gell (LOS) (3) 12oz plastic bowls (1) box baking soda (2) plastic tweezers (1) sheet of 400 grit sand paper (1) pad 0000 steel wool Tooth brush Liquid detergent Use Safety goggles and rubber gloves during setup and using LOS. Setup: DO THIS OUTSIDE (fumes! Don't do LOS inside!) Wash all coins with detergent & toothbrush. Fill all 3 bowl with hot (not boiling) water Left bowl put in coins to warm up Middle bowl enough LOS to be pale yellow (About 1/2 to 1 tsp) just adjust. Right bowl stir in 1/2+ Cup soda mix well. How to: OUTSIDE! Transfer the coins into LOS bowl They turn black with 1-2 mins use tweezers to check Use tweezers to transfer coins into soda bowl After 5 mins soaking remove them and rinse coins (Discarding LOS pour enough soda to turn white then can flush down toilet) Final Finishing: Use 400 grit paper and GENTLY bring out the amount of detail. When the silver details and black patina match and happy stop. Use 0000 steel wool to GENTLY massage the coin. As you do this all the "black" areas will turn a "grayish" and the silver area will look smooth like soft coins. If any are interested in pics of my finished send me an email stephonicus@gmail.com. I have only outlined MY process and coins. I do not guarantee every result is same. If you try it, you assume all responsibility and risk. Follow labels on chemicals.
WHAT IF you wake up tomorrow with ONLY the things that you THANK GOD for today?
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jamo425 Loyal user 298 Posts |
A cheaper and perhaps easier method for darkening silver is using a hard boiled egg if you don't have liver of sulfur. Though I know LOS works very well, a hardboiled egg can produce nearly the same patina. You take 1-2 hardboiled eggs and crush them up inside a plastic bag. Then you can take your coins and either wrap them loosely in a paper towel and put it in with the crushed egg or leave it exposed. With the paper towel I found creates more of a bluish hue, and exposed leaves a reddish tone. Anyway you just seal the bag and wrap everything up, let it sit for a while. Maybe an hour or so depending on how dark you like it. Just make sure the bag is airtight for best results. You can wrap it in tin foil or whatever if you want to be safe.
I did this with my walking liberty coin ring and it turned out great. Just lightly polish it with some fine grade steel wool on where you want the highlights. If your curious as to how it works, it's the sulfur from the egg that reacts with the silver which oxidizes the coin. It creates silver suphate (i think that's the name) aka patina. Anyway, it's a nice cheap, easy and convenient method for darkening silver. Also it doesn't leave the same weird residue that bleach creates. |
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