Take gold plate of silver necklace

[goldscraphobby]

Hi,
My wife has a silver necklace with gold plate. The gold plate is worn is places and looks bad.
What would be the easiest/best way to remove the gold to just have a nice silver necklace for her to wear again ?
Very thin plating so not to interested in saving the gold, just not ruin the silver.
Thanks
Jon

 

[butcher]

Most anything that I can think of that will attack the gold would also have some effect on the silver necklace even if it did not dissolve it, probably ruining the necklace as you know it now.

This would be a question for a jeweler.
NickVc may have some tricks up his sleeve?

Have you considered taking it to a jeweler and having him replate the gold?

 

[silversaddle1]

Buy here a new one.

 

[butcher]

I like that idea, someone, here may have a sterling chain like yours in the scrap bin.
Or buying her a new one with a little special night out...

 

[Lino1406]

HCl + H2O2 will remove the gold. Silver then has to be washed by ammoniac. Lastly- polishing.

 

[nickvc]

As Lino suggested or any weak form of AR as the silver will passivate but it will need polishing afterwards, I’d use a small beaker and do it cold swirling the solution round until the gold has dissolved, remove the necklace or dump solution in your stock pot and rinse off with water then polish, Hcl and bleach would also work.

 

[butcher]

How well can you polish a small intricate chain, what type of sanding, buffing, grit tumbling, or polishing, basically how would you polish a chain?


I have done very little jewelry work, but with the rings and things I have made, I would have sit for days sanding or buffing the silver surface with finer and finer grits to get a smooth clean polished surface, how would you polish the intricate chain and get a shiny smooth polished surface?

Would the chain look somewhat pitted instead of polished (besides just being cleaned of silver chloride scale)?

 

[rickbb]

Only way I know of to polish a chain would be in a tumbler or vibration polisher with very small grit media.

 

[goldscraphobby]

I know I can by a new one just like we can all go out and buy gold bullion instead of refining scrap.

Thanks Lino1406 I'll try HCl + H2O2, I have a polishing machine.

Just something I want to try to do, take crap and make it new.

 

[Rizingfire]

A small wire brush on a dremel might be easier than risking acid eating it...they have dremel pollishing wheels too but ive only used the wire on sterling ingots and solid silver ingots...its going to be time consuming whichever approach...i get the whole enjoying making something special again but u got a lot of work ahead...

 

[Shark]

Have you considered replating it? Might be easier than stripping it.

 

[stella polaris]

Ultrasound bath with rubbing paste in the liquid. Gold is softer and should go off before the silver gets too polished down