How To Remove Copper from Brass After Soldering | Bead and Bones
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 24 ม.ค. 2025
- In this video, I will show you a fast and efficient way to remove copper flashing from brass after it has been exposed to heat, either from soldering or a pickle pot. Copper flashing is the result of trace amounts of copper leaching to the surface of a brass surface after it has been heated. This is because a brass is an alloy which contains copper and heat pulls some of the copper to the surface, resulting in a pink color. You will need pickle powder, 3% Hydrogen Peroxide, distilled water, baking soda, and two glass containers. It is a common misconception to put hydrogen peroxide into the pickle pot itself, but the heat from the pot will cause the leaching to reoccur and may not provide an even result. I will show you how to use these ingredients properly to give you the golden finish you desire.
TIMESTAMPS:
0:05 - Introduction
0:15 - What is copper flashing?
0:38 - Why does copper flashing happen?
1:05 - What is Super Pickle?
1:30 - Why you should not put hydrogen peroxide in your pickle pot
1:45 - Your needed supply list
2:03 - Mixing your neutralizing bath
2:10 - Mixing your super pickle
3:25 - Removing copper flashing
3:50 - Safety tips
4:21 - Results!!
4:15 - Solution working it's magic
5:03 - Neutralizing your pieces
5:22 - Correcting color-matching seams
6:05 - Cleaning up seams and joints
6:23 - Into the tumbler for finishing
6:34 - Final product
TOOLS, SUPPLIES, & RESOURCES:
6-Pack Hydrogen Peroxide - amzn.to/2NaZOiy
Single Hydrogen Peroxide - amzn.to/32FdmpY
Pickle Powder for Jewelry - amzn.to/30bWHJ0
Distilled Water - amzn.to/2NYET1Q
Pyrex Measuring Cups - amzn.to/2NVmK4L
Optional Fume Extractor - amzn.to/2LtaneT
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This is actually a great help. Need more videos on brass jewelry techniques out there.
Thank you for that useful information!!! It's difficult to find information/videos on this topic. Your videos are great!
I completely agree!! It took me piecing together science and jewelry blogs, plus some trial and error. I'm happy to share the knowledge! 😘💟
oh lord thank you for this, I legit thought ZI ruined my brass pieces ive been tinkering with. it all makes sense thank you so much!
OMG! I've watched several different ideas for this problem and yours was the BEST! Thank you!
Your pieces are awesome! Thanks for the tips, since I rarely work with brass and copper, mostly silver. I've learned a lot about soldering brass without visible solder joints from your channel. Thank you!
Interesting explanation on how the copper comes to the surface. My explanation is different because brass is mostly COPPER with ZINC. Cartridge BRASS and BRASS shim stock has 95% COPPER and 5% ZINC. It was explained to me by a auto radiator repair man that by heating BRASS parts with a oxy-acetylene torch and getting the work piece too hot then there is a risk of driving off the ZINC. COPPER melts at 1984*F and ZINC at 784*F so you see that it is much easier to drive off the ZINC.. Older BRASS radiators were TIN-LEAD soldered together which melts at about 361*F, so if you kept the work piece below ZINC melting pint no COPPER color will show.
It would be interesting to know what filler metal metal and process that you used for your art pieces. I doubt that you used TIN-LEAD solder your joints, but more likely used a COPPER or SILVER bearing alloy for color match. Using COPPER/SILVER alloys require a higher temperature above 800*F according to the American Welding Society. If this is so with your joining then your are driving off the ZINC at the surface, not a big deal if ones uses your pickling procedure.
Thanks for your demo and enjoyed the looks of your art pieces. ..... Jim McDermott
Beautiful pieces and thank you for this info.
Exactly the information I needed, thank you!
You're welcome! Glad I could help. 👍
Thanks! Other advice I got was not working....will try this. Your studio is so nice!
Thank you! I feel like a lot of the advice out there is just regurgitated from somewhere else-- the key is understanding WHY it happens so you know exactly how to reverse it. I'd love to know how you like this tip when you try it! 👍
@@beadandbones it worked so easily! I had to leave my pieces in for 20mins but now I know to try harder not to overheat my work. Still learning....
@@dlevy9925 that is EXCELLENT to hear! I find that pieces with higher copper content (so red brass, for example) can take a bit longer. I try to use jewelers brass (which is super yellow) or bronze when I can! ♥️
Oh my goodness thank you! This will save so much clean up time as well as saving the thickness of the metal- I feel like I always have to remove so much material to get the red color off of my brass pieces. Awesome!
Absolutely! I'm so glad I could help. If you ever find the solution removes too much material, add less sparex or swap it out entirely for citric acid! It's a gentler acid. 💖
Bead and Bones Jewelry thank you! Do you know if this method can be used on a piece that has both brass and sterling silver- or will it damage the sterling? I solder a lot of brass pieces to sterling ring shanks so I’m wondering if I can toss the whole ring (sterling + brass) in the peroxide solution 🤔. Your work is SO amazing by the way 👊🏻!!
@@juliegodseyjewelry The solution will not hurt the silver at all-- it's not reactive like the brass. It's akin to using pickle. 👍
@@beadandbones how much citric acid? Same amount as the sparex?
Thank you so much. I've been looking everywhete for this
This helped me a lot! As I am making a medieval Freddy Krueger gauntlet , and my brass ring pieces turned copper from pickling, but this helped a lot! Thank you
Can you give the exact measurements/proportions of the chemicals? Thanks!
I have one piece with copper and brass soldered onto a back of silver. What would happen to the silver if I treated the piece with your solution?
Thank you , this really helped 👍👍👍
After pouring the pickle solution in the baking soda solution where do I throw it?
Thank you so posting this. I learned alot.
You're welcome! I'm happy to share my knowledge with you. 🤗
How long can the water be used? Not the neutralize one.
Does this work for rose gold jewelry ? I purchased a bracelet and I feel like its a bit too pink and would like to tone down the pink .
Thank you soooo much! This si IT!!!!! it helped me a LOT
You're welcome! I'm so glad you found this helpful. 💟
Thank you 🎉
this is awesome! I am having this issue with the burners on my cook top. What is the neutralizer solution? and what is the tool you use to polish it after?
Thank you!! you save my life!
Thanks for the info! such a great video
Could you help me understand why my tumblr makes my brass pieces turn dark? I found no info about it. Love your work!
Hello!!! Thank you so much ❤!! You have saved my project!!! However I would like to ask you; how dangerous are the emissions from the hydro peroxide cocktail? Is a lid ok safety measures for a medium size workplace ?? Thank you 🙏
Does this work on gold
can i use it on my lv brass hardware which is slightly turned pink on some spots?
Absolutely not. It is never a good idea to mess with medical equipment. Please contact the manufacturer of your equipment any only use soft polishing cloths in the future.
Thank you
Great video... What liquid are you tumbling the brass in at the end ?.. Just water ?.
I see a lot of people adding dish detergent, and lemishine in order to shine brass.
Also, do you know what % grade your HP was ?
Can you patinate the brass after this process or would it go pink again?
That is an excellent question! The short answer is yes. However, I will mention two things; first, I recommend polishing after this process before moving on to patina and second, I have noticed some patinas will cause blushing to reoccur. I personally use Jax Black for Brass, Bronze, and Copper. I find the formulation does not cause discoloration and gives a beautiful result! 👍
Thank you great video
nice understandable video, thank you.
Very useful video thank you!
Sometimes, after i cleaned, polish and wax my brass pieces, i put them in ziploc and after a couple days , there are red/brown spots and lines that appears on the pieces, it looks almost like finger prints, i can’t get rid of the lines even with a polishing cloths
Do you have any idea what it could be?
i tried to brush my brass hardware on my lv bag and now on some spots it turned slightly pink,what should i use for it ? pld help me.
Sounds like the brass is plated. I do not recommend abrasives of any kind on plated metals. I would contact the manufacturer of your piece and in the future only use soft polishing cloths. Best of luck!
thank you so much.
Awesome thank u!
brass is 85 % copper and 15% tin/zinc
My Brass is 85% Copper ... that's more than a little
Pretty girl.
My Brass is 85% Copper ... that's more than a little