Question

[thughes]

Well I cut another sterling bracelet and I'm gonna try bending again after I do some practice bending on copper with the suggestions y'all gave me here, and thanks by the way. My question how much do y'all usually polish your silver before engraving. This time I got the polishing down pretty well, I mean like a mirror. Problem is it makes engraving a pain and when I transferred my design (the copier and acetone method) it really came out in kind of wide fuzzy looking lines, hard to follow precisely as my ribbon clearly shows. Have other people found the higher the polish the fuzzier the transfer. I wiped it off and tried it 2 or 3 times with same results.

Thanks for any info.

 

[Andrew Biggs]

Polishing like a mirror gives nothing for the ink to key on to. Try some 1200 grit.

Polishing like a mirror beforehand. I'm not sure if that actually achieves anything. As you engrave it you will scratch the surface anyway.

I generally polish afterwards....very carefully.

Wrap some polishing paper around a flat object like a piece of wood or small stone and gently polish the surface with a few wipes. But be careful!!!!

If you get carried away it will round off the engraving. Just a few strokes with the polishing paper should do it.

Disclaimer: This is the way I do it...............other peoples methods will vary.

Cheers
Andrew

 

[diandwill]

I bought a spray can of cheap white paint, the cheapest they had! Polish to a mirror, spray with the paint and let it dry (mine dries in 10 min. or so), then use the copier and acetone transfer. Get your paper towel wet with the acetone and blot, dab, don't wipe. You want enough acetone to transfer the image, but the acetone can remove the paint too. Play with it, do it right and it works great!

 

[thughes]

Thanks diandwill, I will try that this weekend.

Todd

 

[rodsta]

On really polished metal I usually just put a thin coat (lick finger with tongue) of china white and transfer. That cuts the glare, doesn't ruin your polish and allows the transfer. It's amazing how resilient the china white is....takes a good bit of rinsing afterward to get it off.
Rod

 

[oiseau metal arts]

copper and silver.... 1500 or 2000 grit paper does fine for me before engraving. once transfered i dab it with modeling clay to kill the glare. to finish i have a flat stick with soft leather glued to it that i charge with jewelers rouge.

works well enough for me.