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#11
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Removing baked enamel from coin
"richard schumacher" wrote in message
... In article . net, "Jonathan_ATC" wrote: If it is "real" enamel, which is kiln-fired glass, laquer thinner won't work. To remove real enamel, one would have to suspend the coin vertically and fire in a kiln until the enamel ran off the coin. But, I doubt the OP has access to a kiln to do this. What is the melting point of 90/10 Au/Ag alloy? How does that compare to kiln firing temperatures? That said, it could be the same kind of coloring you experienced, colored epoxy resin. This COULD be removed by soaking in laquer thinner. I am a metalsmith as a hobby. I have not worked much in enamel, so last night at one of our get-togethers I asked some folks who work in enamel for a living. Yes, you can suspend the coin in a kiln and heat it to the melting point of the enamel and it will just drip right off. Just wanted to clear that up because it was said that would not work. If it is epoxy resin, it will just burn off. That said, I was told that the better way was what was described here, heat it with a torch and quench it and the enamel will pop right off. As for melting points of silver and coin silver: Metal Symbol Melting Point ºF Melting Point ºC Specific Gravity Weight in Troy Ozs/Cu In Silver, Pure Ag 1761 961 10.49 5.525 Silver, Sterling - 1640 893 10.36 5.457 Silver, Coin - 1615 879 10.31 5.430 That said, most people enamel on Fine silver as it has the higher melting point. The melting points of various enamel powders vary some by color due to the additives used to make the colors. However, we know that the enamels will melt and flow at temperatures lower than .999, .925 & .900 silver because we've all seen finely enamelled coins. One such example of these enamelled coins is in the Stacks "The Atlanta Sale" catalog. For explanations of different types of enamel and how they are adherred to coins or other metal, see this site: http://www.itsmagick.com/M/tech2.htm I spent 3 hours last night discussing jewelry and coin enamel with people who do it for a living. Very interesting evening. Jonathan_ATC |
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#12
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Removing baked enamel from coin
"Jonathan_ATC" wrote in message ink.net... I am a metalsmith as a hobby. I have not worked much in enamel, so last night at one of our get-togethers I asked some folks who work in enamel for a living. Yes, you can suspend the coin in a kiln and heat it to the melting point of the enamel and it will just drip right off. Just wanted to clear that up because it was said that would not work. If it is epoxy resin, it will just burn off. That was me who said that. I am also a metalsmith, and I have sold my enamelled pieces, so I guess I could claim professional status (though I usually don't.) I continue to question the "drip off" contention. I reckon that a lot of enamel would remain within the devices of the coin - and that capillary action would keep a fair bit on the flat bits. What do I base this on? I have, in the past, enamelled dishes on both sides. Picture a small copper dish - say 3" diameter. Many times I have enamelled the base (the convex side) then, by carefully suspending the dish above the kiln floor on sharp ceramic spikes, have managed to enamel the inside, which is now rightside-up. None of the enamel on the base has ever "dripped" off, though some will burn off (over-fire) around the rim. I still doubt that enamel will run and drip off the piece. Maybe if you shake it vigorously - not an option within my litle kiln. I'd still go for the heat-and-quench option, as I said before. That said, I was told that the better way was what was described here, heat it with a torch and quench it and the enamel will pop right off. Yup. BTW - either method would leave the poor coin in a sad and sorry state. I agree with the earlier poster who suggested selling it and buying an undamaged coin. Cheers. -- Jeff R. |
#13
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Removing baked enamel from coin
"Jeff R" wrote in message
u... "Jonathan_ATC" wrote in message ink.net... I am a metalsmith as a hobby. I have not worked much in enamel, so last night at one of our get-togethers I asked some folks who work in enamel for a living. Yes, you can suspend the coin in a kiln and heat it to the melting point of the enamel and it will just drip right off. Just wanted to clear that up because it was said that would not work. If it is epoxy resin, it will just burn off. That was me who said that. I am also a metalsmith, and I have sold my enamelled pieces, so I guess I could claim professional status (though I usually don't.) That's cool. I would like to work with enamel, but so far I just work in silver. My forte is hollow beads about the size of a quarter and about 3/8 inch thick. They sell pretty good. They're nice pieces. I just got a bunch back from a juried show in a local gallery. But, I would like to enamel some of them. I continue to question the "drip off" contention. I reckon that a lot of enamel would remain within the devices of the coin - and that capillary action would keep a fair bit on the flat bits. I figure the same, but was told it would work by several folks last night. It was just a hypothetical though, no one in the group had actually tried to get enamel off a coin using the "drip off" method. What do I base this on? I have, in the past, enamelled dishes on both sides. Picture a small copper dish - say 3" diameter. Many times I have enamelled the base (the convex side) then, by carefully suspending the dish above the kiln floor on sharp ceramic spikes, have managed to enamel the inside, which is now rightside-up. I've seen dishes like this and wondered why the enamel on one side would not drip off when doing the other side. I had surmised that the one side has a higher melting temperature once fired than the second side has when fired. Am I close? None of the enamel on the base has ever "dripped" off, though some will burn off (over-fire) around the rim. I still doubt that enamel will run and drip off the piece. Maybe if you shake it vigorously - not an option within my litle kiln. Yes, shaking it vigorously is not really an option. Hahaha! I'd still go for the heat-and-quench option, as I said before. That said, I was told that the better way was what was described here, heat it with a torch and quench it and the enamel will pop right off. Yup. BTW - either method would leave the poor coin in a sad and sorry state. I agree with the earlier poster who suggested selling it and buying an undamaged coin. I agree. I don't know why the OP would want to get the enamel off unless it was a really valuable coin once it was off. I have not had the chance to examine an enamelled coin up close, especially one AFTER the enamel has been removed. I would think the surface underneath would not be real nice. Cheers. -- Jeff R. Best regards, Jonathan_ATC P.S. I, in no way, meant to state I was an expert in enamel. |
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