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 Replies: 26 / Views: 3,962 |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
As mostly already replyed, there are numerous types of So called Solder. AND what was done to that item of yours is unknown and by who. Which means it may not even have been a jewler, might have been some hobbiest or anyone. Without knowing what the so called Solder is, using an Acid may prove to be completely distructive to the coins. Using heat too could make it spread all over the coins. Even if you could get the Solder completely off, most likely there will be some really harsh marks left from it. AND if you are not a person that knows how to use acids, you could end up with some serious injuries. Possibly the loss of your eyes.
My suggestion is to simply give that necklace to a young lady as a gift and forget those coins.
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
3692 Posts |
Let me just add, that nobody should attempt to make their own acid here. You'll get spills, it's less expensive to buy it, and it has a shelf life of 3 months ideally. After 3 months your acid seeps out of the containers which is why they sell them in wooden boxes and fill the baggies with sawdust. If you have the acid anywhere near steel tools they will get eaten up just by living near the acid.
Soldering iron is for low melting points. And your tip had better be super clean or anything on it will give off fumes.
If your metal is boiling, that means it's already melted. I could give you some pointers, but really, just take it to a jeweler, who will be less likely (than you) to melt the entire piece. I'd say your gold coins are done for. If you took them to a refinery they would account for the solder on there (lower karat). Boiling metal is bad for it; there's a threshold.
Ideally you want to do no damage to a coin, which is why there are bezels. But garage hobbyists will insist on drilling holes and using tin solder on gold when there are a zillion better ways to mount a coin. My guess is that the coins were viewed as scrap, or just canvas. Is the solder all over the place, or is it visible only at the joint? Whoever soldered the coins already damaged them, so balance out how badly you want them out of there.
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
3692 Posts |
One more thing: if it's lead solder, don't take it to a goldsmith because they will hate you forever. Lead contaminates gold and the work area.
If you suspect that it's lead, a normal torch from a hardware store will take care of that low melting point in seconds.
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Valued Member
United States
374 Posts |
Desoldering - extremely difficult. The reason being that the heat conducts very quickly through all the metals in the piece, with a standard iron I doubt it would be even possible. Ever try to remove solder from a copper pipe?
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1234 Posts |
 , until we get pictures or you get professional advice we are just going to be going around in circles. My dad has worked on transmissions for years he has always said the best welder he knew was a guy that could weld aluminum. Call around to some welding shops and ask if anyone there is confident with aluminum, just because he's in a smelly dirty welding shop and not a clean upstanding jeweler doesn't mean he's not good with metals.   |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
17884 Posts |
The acid for testing silver will work if they used silver solder but it won't work if they used gold solder. And considering these are gold coins they probably used gold solder.
I'm actually surprised at how low the melting point is for gold solders. They range from 500F for a soft solder (80% gold 20% tin) up to 680F for a hard solder. For the most part well higher than the typical soldering iron will reach but well below the melting points for silver solders.
Edited by Conder101
01/03/2014 2:41 pm
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
Regardless of all the possible solutions, I still say leave well enough alone. Would be nice to have a photo of what your talking about. If nice enough, I still think the best, safest, most economical, smartest thing to do is use it as a gift to some girl. If she is a coin lover, might make her mad that someone ruined possibly great coins though. If a jewlery lover, should like this as a real novelty.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1247 Posts |
All the good (useful) acids for metals are at my local jewelry store, and stored in glass bottles.
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
598 Posts |
I bought a silver/nitric acid test kit (pinkish/orangish acid with a scratch stone) off ebay. It was cheap and only the tiniest drop is dispensed at a time... and a tiny drop is all that is needed. Apply a drop to the solder and it will quickly turn grey and fizz. Wipe off when the reaction subsides. You can use Q-tips and a solution of baking soda then a good rinse between applications. Use several applications. This has worked successfully for removing all traces of silver/gray coloured solder I have yet encountered... and I must've done a dozen or so coins by now... all with the same small bottle. Photography is not my thing, but here's a typical application result I would expect... VVV  https://goccf.com/t/135907 |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
17884 Posts |
Quote:
This has worked successfully for removing all traces of silver/gray coloured solder I have yet encountered.. silver/grey would indicate a lead/tin or silver alloy solder. As I said if they used a gold solder (Which is likely since they are soldering a gold coin to a gold bezel or chain) the acid for silver testing will not work. a soft gold solder is still 80% gold. You MIGHT be able to remove the 20 tin from the solder but the gold will still keep it attached. |
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
598 Posts |
 I have been lucky and not yet encountered any gold solder. The little gold mounting beads on the above mounted coin, and the entire mount, were all done with a silver coloured solder... such a miniscule amount of solder that it (the solder) looked gold even under magnification. I have removed several mounted gold coins from gold jewellery and all were soldered with, well... nitric acid took care of it in short order. >>>edited>>> punctuation Edited by IBGolden
01/10/2014 7:01 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7375 Posts |
.....or here's another possible solution Flip it/sell it, and take a modest profit and let the next guy worry about it  Don't think I'd want to begin my experimenting on a piece like that. Just my .02. |
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Pillar of the Community
Sweden
729 Posts |
This is pure speculation
how about using cold as means to remove the soldering?
Different metals expand/contract diffrently, and if the part where the soldering hasnt formed an actual alloy with the gold, the gold and solder should contract diffrently when exposed to extreme cold...thus loosening the solder from the gold.
Has anyone tried with liquid nitrogen or is my thinking totally off?
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1234 Posts |
OK so to review we have harsh acid that is regulated by the government, Melting Heat, Brute force and now Liquid Nitrogen... which does make a lot of sense. Considering liquid nitrogen can cause instant and permanent DEATH I'm not sure how much better it would be than the acid thou.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
17884 Posts |
Quote:
Considering liquid nitrogen can cause instant and permanent DEATH I'm not sure how much better it would be than the acid thou. There are a LOT of things that can cause instant and permanent death if used improperly (including water). But used with proper care liquid nitrogen is quite safe. Edited by Conder101
01/23/2014 12:26 pm
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Replies: 26 / Views: 3,962 |
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First Page
Posted 01/03/2014 10:16 am
