How do you restore a RK you screwed up?

[wh014d4394]

I'm seriously thinking about repainting the cross and seeing if someone can tell or help me how to darken or make the silver look new. But if anyone would like to borrow the cross to see if they can restore it I'm open.

hello there sir thank you for your pm regarding this cross. but i feel i would be shark bait if i went a head and did it for you. yours jimmy

[AndyD]

Wouldn't regular handling help put the patina back on the silver?

I'd have thought that the oils etc from the skin would cause it to darken,after all it does with my shell case collection.
You only have to leave a fingerprint on one and a few days later it's tarnished!

Hope this helps.

Kind regards,
Andy

[Stephen Stout]

Thank you guys and I will let nature take it's course, however one thing I did to dark it is put egg yolk on the silver to tarnish it, and it looks better without soiling the cross. And the paint doesn't look that bad with a tarnished silver rim (but as not as tarnished as before).

[emilitaria_usmc]

do not put rainwater on it

rainwater is slightly acidic from the dissolved sulfer SO2 that comes from coal burning power plants.
rain will oxidize it black.
you won't like it.
if you get water on the paint it can find it's way through cracks in the paint to rust the iron core --- a disaster!!!!!
if you want to oxidize it you need a source of chlorine which makes an iridescent kind of toning - blue, red, gold, and green.
it also needs to be done slow.

[emilitaria_usmc]

no more egg yolk!!!

egg yokes are a big sulfer source.
its going to turn black and keep getting blacker.

[Sonderkommando]

How do you darken it with egg yolk, just rub some uncooked egg yolk on the silver frame?
How long does it take to darken it down and how long do you leave it on?

The reason I ask is that I have heard about the egg yolk method before to darken silver but never understood how to do it....

[Stephen Stout]

How do you darken it with egg yolk, just rub some uncooked egg yolk on the silver frame?
How long does it take to darken it down and how long do you leave it on?

The reason I ask is that I have heard about the egg yolk method before to darken silver but never understood how to do it....

What I do is put the egg yolk uncooked on the silver frame and let it set for five minutes and then I wash the cross off and do it a second time for a light tarnish. The cross is now lightly tarnished (gray with a hint of silver) but not black. I am going to darken it one more time and I will then post some pictures.

[Richard]

Coin dealers around the world have used paper envelopes that have a sulfur content for years to add toning to coins. The problem is you have to be careful how long you leave it in the envelope. You need to check the item every day until it reaches the toning you want and it is a cr*p shoot at times to see if you get the desired "rainbow" toning or black. I agree with everyone else, leave it be and let time to its work.
Richard V

[Don D.]

What I do is put the egg yolk uncooked on the silver frame and let it set for five minutes and then I wash the cross off and do it a second time for a light tarnish. The cross is now lightly tarnished (gray with a hint of silver) but not black. I am going to darken it one more time and I will then post some pictures.

I'd have thought you would have learned after screwing it up the first time you messed with it.

[Stephen Stout]

It looks better and I'm done screwing around (I decieded not to darken it again and let nature take it's course).