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Tuesday, November 16, 2010

new trick

the other day i tried soldering bales on already spray painted pieces by submerging the painted part in a dish of cold water. if i was to apply any heat to work like this, the paint would melt. i know jewelers use this trick when soldering needs to happen to a piece with stones already set. the water keeps the stones cool and protects them from cracking. it worked wonderfully for my regal graffiti! the water barely warmed up, the paint was protected, and now i have one more option for my spray painted work. i do love figuring this kind of stuff out - it was a fun challenge.


thanks for reading.

5 comments:

stitching in the sun said...

Thank you for the cold water trick! I am new to jewellery and am always scared when it comes to soldering. And I love your work.

Maria Apostolou said...

Thanks for sharing this tip Amy! I have to try it one day.

Marie from Markhed Design said...

Brilliant! you think it would work if I had a precious gem that I didn't want to damage?

JB said...

This is a good trick. My teacher taught me to do this by wrapping wet cotton around the parts that can't get hot. If it starts getting hot the water will make a hissing noise as a warning.

Great work!

Amy Tavern said...

Marie - I think it might work for harder stones, like diamonds. You might try a sample stone first just to be sure.

JB - Thanks for the additional info. Sounds great! I will try this next time.