Art_Jewelry_-_March_2016_USA_

super pickle
Super pickle is a generic term for a family of hydrogen peroxide, sodium bisulfate
(Sparex), and white vinegar pickles. They are used with copper or copper-bearing
alloys, such as brass and bronze. It is also good for pickling nickel to remove the
copper flash that appears after it’s heated. This recipe contains only sodium bisulfate
and hydrogen peroxide, though other variations may contain white vinegar.

Recipe
Pour 16 fl. oz. (473 mL) of hydrogen peroxide into a plastic or glass container. Mix
in 2 oz. (56.7 g) of sodium bisulfate until it dissolves.

Disposal/Reuse
Place steel wool into the pickle to remove the copper from the spent solution. The
steel wool pulls the copper out of the pickle almost instantly, turning it pink/rust
colored. Dispose of the steel wool. The pickle can be reused, if desired. To dispose
of the pickle, pour it into a large container of water, and use baking soda to neutralize
the pickle. Follow your area’s hazardous-waste disposal guidelines for disposing of
neutralized pickle.

had decent charcoal blocks, but we did
have firebricks and lots of broken pieces
of charcoal. To charge a firebrick, rub
broken bits of charcoal over the entire
surface of the firebrick.

Create the soot layer. Use tweezers to
hold the copper piece gold-side down.
Slowly pass the metal through a candle
flame [3] until the surface is jet-black with
soot [4]. Place the copper soot-side-up on
the prepared firebrick. This setup, with the

carbon-covered copper and firing surface

covered with charcoal, will create a reduc-

ing atmosphere in the next step.

Firing

Fire the Aura 22. Light your torch (see

“Choosing a Torch,” opposite page). Ad-

just the gas until you create a soft, bushy,

flame with a bit of orange at the tip. If

the flame blows out, relight the torch,

and increase the amount of gas.

Your natural instinct will be to move

the flame around as if you are soldering.

Don’t! Come straight down on the copper.

You’ll see the flame curl upward, making

a curved, disk-like shape; this is called the

corona [5], and it’s key to this technique.

Once you commit, do not move the torch

around. You want to fully cover the copper

with the flame; any movement of the torch

can expose parts of the copper to the air,

which will cause oxides to form.

Now comes the part that’s like explain-

ing how to ride a bike. Once you get it,

you’ll get it, but you might topple a few

times before getting it right. Watch what’s

going on with the soot. Some areas will

start to glow red, and the outline of your

gold will start to appear. Wait two seconds

after you see this, then pull the torch away

for a split second and return it immediate-

ly. Hold the flame on the piece for longer

than the length of time it was pulled away.

Continue to pull the torch away and return

it until all the soot has been burned away

[6]. Turn off the torch.

NOTE: The copper will look pretty bad

at this point. It may look like areas of the

Aura 22 were burned off, but don’t worry,

they weren’t. If you did overheat the

metal, the gold will have begun to alloy

with the copper and pass into the surface,

but have no fear — all is not lost. In my

experience, it’s better to go too far with

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40 Art Jewelry ■ March 2016

Subscribers: See the three types of torch flames and when to use them at http://www.artjewelrymag.com/reference.