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Showing posts with the label liver of sulphur

My Tortoise Ring Brings in the New Year!

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Last time you read about the tortoise project, the silver clay was ready to fire.   After programming the kiln and waiting the required time, I held my breath and opened the door.   There it was!   Of course I had to try it on to see if it fit before I did anything else.   Success! When silver clay gets fired, the organic part of the clay burns up and the heat fuses the micro filaments of silver to become 99% fine silver.   After the firing the silver looks white.   Once I brush it with a brass brush, the color turns to the silver color one expects.      Now comes the sanding and polishing.   I want to be able to see the pattern of the tortoise better and that requires a patina of liver of sulphur.   The water is warm when I put a small amount of the liver of sulphur gel, mix it, and put in the silver pieces.   After the silver pieces start to darken to the color I want, they will go into a separate dish of water with baking soda to stop the color change.   The fin