Methods for blackening silver. How to remove black from silver jewelry?

There are several types of blackening of silver, each of them has own characteristics, and some types of blackening are not quite black.

Blackening with whiteness

For example, there is a popular method of blackening silver, in which products are placed in a dish with whiteness and boiled for several minutes. The product takes on a black-graphite velvet color, this blackening does not hold well and may disappear over time.
 

Blackening with sulfuric ointment

The method of blackening silver with sulfuric ointment is a very popular and quite simple and effective. Sulfur ointment is a drug used mainly to combat the pathogens of scabies in humans and animals. You can buy it at almost any pharmacy. The first thing you need to do is apply the ointment to the silver item (it is thick when not heated). After we will warm it to a fluid state the drops of the liquefied ointment can be moved along the surface of the product with a stream of hot air. Usually, at this moment the whole product acquires a black - blue glossy color. Then we wipe everything dry and if required repeat the process.
 

Blackening by «sulfuric liver»

Finally, let's name the third method of blackening silver, which is no less popular and effective. You need to use to do it a mixture of sodium polysulfides (Na₂S_n; in the old time it was called «sulfuric liver»). To get a sulfuric liver, you need to mix sulfur with soda, and then solder it by burning this mixture (a very poisonous and corrosive gas is released during burning). Then the resulting homogeneous mass must be put together with silver items in hot water and held for several minutes over the fire, trying not to bring to a boil. Its periodically removing from the fire, to look «by eye» the level blackness of the items. Then we rinse, dry and get a high-quality black coating.

ATTENTION! When choosing a room where this method will be tested, the blackening process. There MUST be a powerful hood, since when creating a sulfuric liver, as well as when boiling water with a sulfuric liver, a large amount of hydrogen sulfide is released (POISONOUS GAS).
 

Other means for blackening silverware

There are also other means for blackening silver, which give for the product a dark color with different shades of brown, green, blue and other colors. Each of them have plus and minus but despite to this blackening can be chosen even for the most refined taste. By the way, you can blacken not only silver items, but also any other items made of precious metals.
 

Removing blackness

Covering an items with black is more easier than removing from it. In order to make a silver item white again, you need to burn with a burner, but to should be done carefully. since when heated in places of adhesions, silver can begin to melt and therefore can accordingly lose original shape.

How to clean silver from simple blackening can be found here.