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Daily Wire Tip April 22: Will Liver of Sulfur Harm Lampwork Beads?

By on April 22, 2010
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Daily Wire Jewelry Making Tip
April 22, 2010

Question:

I am going to create a 16 gauge copper wire bracelet embellished with lampwork beads.  Can I immerse the bracelet in liver of sulfur without harming the lampwork beads or should I first immerse the copper components before attaching to the beads?  Thanks for you input.

Answer:

Liver of sulfur is safe on plain glass, so it should be fine with your lampworked beads. Please be cautious! Use gloves and work in a very well ventilated area. If a glass bead is used that has a metal embellishment, such as silver or gold, be aware that the end color of that metal will not be the same as the copper.

Answer contributed by Dale “Cougar” Armstrong

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2 Comments

  1. avatar

    Liz

    April 22, 2010 at 12:09 pm

    If your worried about the beads, use a hot boiled egg, (cut in half shell in all) and place it in a closed tubberware container with your jewelry until the egg cools. You will get the same tarnished effect as liver of sulfer but with out damaging delicate beads or your hands. You can reheat the egg in the microwave and do the process again, if it didn’t tarnish enough for you the first time.

    Hot Boiled eggs release a lot of sulfer gas and when contained will antique copper and other metal very well with out harsh chemicals.

    • avatar

      Barb

      May 11, 2012 at 4:07 pm

      Be careful when reheating the egg… I blew up half an egg in the microwave after 30 seconds… not fun to clean up hard boiled eggs… lol