Shellac sticks to silver and destroys the enamel

[HammerTitanGuy]

Hello,

I am workign with fine silver. Engraving and hammering it to achieve various textures. I am using dark brown shellac to hold the piece. When I am done with the piece, I heat it up to remove the shellac. But pieces still stick. When I enamel them, it destroys the color and causes problems. Problems are:

1) Heating the silver thoroughly which will remove the shellac however it destroys the shine
2) Dipping it in acetone/boiling water which rarely works and also destroys the shine
3) Heating it using torch (carefully), does not remove the shellac completely.

I would appreciate some advice on;

1) How to remove shellac without destroying the shine
2) How to make sure silver is clean of dirt/grease (so it is ready for enameling) without destroying the shine


Thank you so much. I am in a country where thermoloc is not available so would appreciate any ways around the above problem.

 

[mtlctr]

Only heat enough to remove piece, way before red hot.
the correct solvent is denatured alcohol. I keep it in a pickle jar. Drop the piece in & let it set a few minutes, swirl the jar around. Remove & wipe off with rag. Repeat if needed. Of course the thicker the shellac the longer the process takes. Good luck.

 

[silverchip]

USE denatured alcohol for shellac. try using a heat gun to loosen your pieces from shellac .

 

[HammerTitanGuy]

Only heat enough to remove piece, way before red hot.
the correct solvent is denatured alcohol. I keep it in a pickle jar. Drop the piece in & let it set a few minutes, swirl the jar around. Remove & wipe off with rag. Repeat if needed. Of course the thicker the shellac the longer the process takes. Good luck.

Thank you for the advice. I shall buy this tomorrow. Will this destroy the bright cut brightness on my silver?

 

[HammerTitanGuy]

USE denatured alcohol for shellac. try using a heat gun to loosen your pieces from shellac .

Sure I will try this1 Does it impact the bright-cut intensity of engraving? Will it dull it? Does it leave trace elements/etc.?

 

[mtlctr]

No , will not ruin bright cuts, wash piece in mild soapy water.
no heat gun? , use a hair dryer or gently use torch.