A
Anonymous
Guest
Hello members,
I've taken out some scrap .925 silver jewelry (31.6 grams) I bought back about a year or so ago and decided to dissolve it all and refine it to make one piece of silver. I had some leftover Nitric from cleaning up a botched job I did when refining some gold powder. The gold came out great though.
Anyway, the leftover nitric, I decided to put my silver in it and instantly the bubbling started. After awhile, since it's been kinda chilly outside, I heated the solution up on low heat, and within 15 - 20 minutes all the silver was dissolved, except two pieces. Then after letting it heat longer, I noticed the ring and the nose ring (I think) still didn't dissolve.
So, what I did was remember that I've been told about using stainless steel pans last night here on the forum and then it hit me. That ring and possible nose ring isn't dissolving because they are stainless steel. There's not even a dent in them, yet they look like silver. I know they must be stainless, because the other silver jewelry is cementing right now as I write this. I'll post the yield from this just to tell what I got out of it, minus the other pieces that didn't dissolve at all. The weight of those two pieces together is approximately 1.5 - 2.0 grams, at most.
Oh, I forgot to mention that one of the rings did have a diamond/clear stone in it. I partially looked for it when the metals were dissolved, but I didn't do a thorough search for it. Did the stone survive the nitric bath? If not.. Oh Well.
The ring wasn't stamped either, yet it was added to the lot of silver I bought. One of the rings inside was stamped 14K, but I found out later on that is isn't 14K, but it is silver.
Anyway, now I have even more of an understanding of nitric acid and the processes I'm working with. It makes more sense as I continue to delve into these processes and keep reading and learning from this great forum.
Somebody sold me some stainless steel.
At least the amount isn't much or anything to cry about, but at least it taught me something, especially if I'm working with Nitric Acid.
Thanks again for all the learning and inspiration you all have been giving me. I really appreciate it. Much Love!
Kevin
I've taken out some scrap .925 silver jewelry (31.6 grams) I bought back about a year or so ago and decided to dissolve it all and refine it to make one piece of silver. I had some leftover Nitric from cleaning up a botched job I did when refining some gold powder. The gold came out great though.
Anyway, the leftover nitric, I decided to put my silver in it and instantly the bubbling started. After awhile, since it's been kinda chilly outside, I heated the solution up on low heat, and within 15 - 20 minutes all the silver was dissolved, except two pieces. Then after letting it heat longer, I noticed the ring and the nose ring (I think) still didn't dissolve.
So, what I did was remember that I've been told about using stainless steel pans last night here on the forum and then it hit me. That ring and possible nose ring isn't dissolving because they are stainless steel. There's not even a dent in them, yet they look like silver. I know they must be stainless, because the other silver jewelry is cementing right now as I write this. I'll post the yield from this just to tell what I got out of it, minus the other pieces that didn't dissolve at all. The weight of those two pieces together is approximately 1.5 - 2.0 grams, at most.
Oh, I forgot to mention that one of the rings did have a diamond/clear stone in it. I partially looked for it when the metals were dissolved, but I didn't do a thorough search for it. Did the stone survive the nitric bath? If not.. Oh Well.
The ring wasn't stamped either, yet it was added to the lot of silver I bought. One of the rings inside was stamped 14K, but I found out later on that is isn't 14K, but it is silver.
Anyway, now I have even more of an understanding of nitric acid and the processes I'm working with. It makes more sense as I continue to delve into these processes and keep reading and learning from this great forum.
Somebody sold me some stainless steel.
Thanks again for all the learning and inspiration you all have been giving me. I really appreciate it. Much Love!
Kevin