Homemade Pickle

How to make pickling solution for jewelry

• Bring ½ cup vinegar and ½ cup water to a boil. You can use more vinegar than water. Some people even use just vinegar, no water.


• Pour in a glass or ceramic coffee container. Hint: Make sure that the container you use for your pickle does not get used for anything else after this.


• Add 1 tsp salt.


• Add your metal jewelry piece, making sure that it is covered with solution. You may need to turn the piece over while it is soaking if the back of the piece sits directly on the bottom of the container. Note: Do not use pickling solution on jewelry pieces with gemstones.


• While the piece is soaking, mix 1 teaspoon of baking soda with 1 cup of warm water in another glass or ceramic container.


• When you see that the fire scale is gone, remove the piece from the pickling solution using a wooden pick or copper tongs. Hint: If you have heavy fire scale, you may need to reheat the solution-without the jewelry piece in it-and soak the piece again. You may even need to make new pickle solution and re-pickle.


• Place the piece in the baking soda/water solution. This solution helps neutralize the acid in the vinegar that ate away the fire scale.


• Rinse and dry the piece.


• Brushing the piece with a brass brush will polish the piece to a satin finish. Rubbing a burnisher across the surface of the piece will polish and highlight the raised areas.


• Tumbling the piece with shot will polish the whole piece.


• Note: A half and half mixture of pickle and hydrogen peroxide is needed to remove the copper from the surface of brass items that have been pickled.

Most communities have laws governing the disposal of what can be considered hazardous waste. Since your pickle solution contains metal particles in it, it should be poured into a labeled container, like an old bleach container, that you will eventually turn in to your hazardous waste dump.