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Post by fernwood on Nov 6, 2019 13:31:36 GMT -5
Was going through old photos and this surfaced. It is from the mid 1980's. Any pointers on the best way to remove the coral/Turquoise without damaging the stones/silver? I am more worried about the silver being damaged than the stones. Eventually would like to inlay with new stones. Thanks
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Post by opalpyrexia on Nov 6, 2019 15:09:00 GMT -5
Are they bezel-set or glued in? If you're not sure, you could soak them in acetone for several days or a week to see if they loosen up.
If bezel-set, I'm afraid that you're out of luck because the bezels would need to be loosened with a sharp tool — usually done with a flat graver, and that inevitably damages the bezels. Or you could just crack the stones and remove the pieces. Sorry.
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Post by fernwood on Nov 6, 2019 15:18:25 GMT -5
Glued in. I thought of acetone, but was unsure what it would do to the silver.
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wpotterw
spending too much on rocks
Member since September 2016
Posts: 415
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Post by wpotterw on Nov 6, 2019 16:12:36 GMT -5
Was going through old photos and this surfaced. It is from the mid 1980's. Any pointers on the best way to remove the coral/Turquoise without damaging the stones/silver? I am more worried about the silver being damaged than the stones. Eventually would like to inlay with new stones. Thanks Looks like sand cast Navajo. My experience with that stuff (Zuni & Navajo) was that the cast bezels were often not hammered to hold the stone. They often used some kind of adhesive grout-like filler that had metallic properties - like they stirred metal dust into an epoxy mix. Then when the stones were polished, the filler took on the look of polished silver but a little darker. Suggest going after that with some Attack (or equivalent) and trying to work your way under the stones. BP
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Post by fernwood on Nov 6, 2019 16:15:21 GMT -5
This looks like some type of epoxy, as it yellowed. The bezels were not hammered. Epoxy was filled in over the stones.
These bezels were available from Thunderbird supply until about 5-10 years ago.
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Post by opalpyrexia on Nov 6, 2019 16:26:11 GMT -5
Are they bezel-set or glued in? If you're not sure, you could soak them in acetone for several days or a week to see if they loosen up.
Rather than acetone, which would work very slowly, you might consider using a (more toxic) paint stripper product that would be faster.
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Post by fernwood on Nov 6, 2019 16:34:01 GMT -5
Thanks. It will be a while before I get to this, just info gathering now.
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capt38
starting to shine!
Member since November 2017
Posts: 45
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Post by capt38 on Nov 19, 2019 14:07:53 GMT -5
I have used a product called Attack, available from Rio. It is designed to dissolve epoxy and resin from metal and stone.
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