Big Boys Hobbies

Help to identify and cleaning tips

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beachrumbum

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Apr 16, 2018
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Near the equator
Got a tip here about a heavily eroded beach. Pulled this sea urchant ring out. I'm curious what the best way to clean it would be and if it is clad or could be some good. Should I try electrolysis on it? I scraped it digging and it looks quite shiny underneath, silver and gold color but its not cleaning easy with vinigar




 
It's heavy at .7 oz. I was thinking 50s era costume jewelery as the beach was producing old mercs. Will electrolysis wreck silver just in case it is? I am hesitant to even think silver, though it was a high end resort beach for a long time.
 
I'm not a 100% sure but the electrolysis might make the little stones pop out. I would keep it as is.
 
Electrolysis

Electrolysis done correctly will not dislodge the stones, they appear to be prong set. 9-12VDC in a solution of Baking Soda and water for less than a minute should clean the ring to the point where a polishing cloth (I use Never Dull) will finish it off nicely. Also make sure the negative terminal goes to the ring and the positive terminal goes to the stainless steel electrode (here I use a SS spoon).

NOTE: These are IMPORTANT - 1. if you do not have the negative lead on the object to be cleaned it will become coated with any impurities in the water or on the stainless steel anode. 2. Also the first time in the solution for an object should not be longer than a minute. You can always do another minute or more, but TOO MUCH time will cause deterioration of the object being cleaned.

A link to a video
https://metaldetectingforum.com/showthread.php?t=233076&highlight=electrolysis

There are little variations as to the solution mixture and the "rub" as shown in the video.
 
I use a cell phone charger. low voltage and low amperage. I do use more salt than the video shows and sometimes it takes a little longer to get a silver or gold item cleaned.

I use it mainly on silver rings that I find at the beach that have been there long enough to be black and crusted. I found one 10k crucifix that was so badly encrusted that it was difficult to determine what it was until I did electrolysis on it a couple of times. After I finally was able to get it cleaned I took it to a jeweler and hid him clean all the crevices and polish it up real pretty.

Precious metal items clean up nicely and I do not see any damage.

Some costume jewelry has the "stones" glued in and I have had those come out but no loss as it was worthless to start with.
 
They are glued in. I tried it anyway and had little improvement. I think the metal is so junk it just likes being black. Oh well, was worth a try. In the bin she goes.:laughing:
 
I think the top part might be Pewter...A good contestant for the ugly ring thread? :D
 
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