Sound technical content, curated with aloha by
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Pine Beach, NJ
The authoritative public forum
for Metal Finishing since 1989
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Chlorine from swimming pool discolored my ring
Q. I have a supposedly antique ring that is yellow gold on the band and base with a flat area that I thought was white gold set with diamond chip and then a protruding yellow gold base with an emerald in it. I have been swimming a few times this week - three times? - and forgot twice to take the ring off. Today I have noticed that it has completely tarnished - the outside of the "white gold" is not blackened and looks like old silver round the edge, the central bit is a bit less affected but still looks dull. Does this mean it is not white gold - what coverings or metal would two doses of chlorine affect? I am really disappointed as it was a gift. I'm not bothered about value really but it doesn't look as pretty now. Can I do anything? Thanks.
Ellie Mckinlay- Norwich, England
2007
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First of two simultaneous responses -- A. Hey Ellie, Process Engineer - Syracuse, New York 2007 Second of two simultaneous responses -- A. Dear Ellie, Alloys & Refining - Alden, New York 2007 |
Q. I have a 14k white gold wedding band, the other day I put my hand in fertilizer to break it up. Later I noticed it had started to turn yellowish. I have a 5 year warranty. would it be covered under warranty and what can I do to fix this?
Greg Bennettplating, buyer - New Port Richey, Florida, USA
September 27, 2010
April 9, 2012
Q. Hello,
I make jewelry for many years, beading, no metallurgy.
Seeing my daughter solid 14 kt yellow gold ring with diamonds, I wanted to clean it. I dipped it in a small glass cup with Tarn-X and forgot it for a few hours.
The ring lost its yellow shine, looks very dull, even the diamonds. It looks grey.
Can I revive this ring? she loves it and has worn it for 8 years. I feel very bad for doing this mistake.
Please help a desperate mother who learned a grave lesson, never leave Tarn-X more than a few minutes. I should have sat in front of it.
Thanks. diana.
jewelry designer - Ocean, New Jersey
A. Hi Diana.
I think there is very little chance that the diamonds were harmed, but the gold may have been mildly etched. I think mechanical polishing may be needed. Your jeweler has small polishing wheels and compounds he can polish the ring with, and I think it will be good as new. I don't think I'd try it myself unless I had some old jewelry to work with to acquire the skills, but if you do, you could try a Dremel polishing tip [affil links] with Dremel polishing compound [affil links]. Please let us know what you do.
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
April 10, 2012
April 10, 2012
Thank you Ted Mooney for your response, while looking at the ring, yesterday, I attempted to polish it with one of my polishing cloths I bought for my jewelry, thinking I couldn't ruin it more than I did before.
At my surprise, after more than a few scrubs, the ring is yellow, shining as new, my hands and the cloth are black though.
I am very happy it ended up well.
Thank you again. diana
- Ocean, New Jersey
A. Brush your jewelry with Crest Complete toothpaste and Shazam back to normal.
Richard hurtz- Vancouver british columbia
August 17, 2015
Thank you about the crest comment to bring color back rings It worked like a charm.....
- Aurora, Indiana USA
June 21, 2016
I didn't think about my wedding ring when I went on vacation earlier this month with my family. I was shocked when I saw that my wedding ring was tarnished. We spent a lot of time in the pool. I decided to try toothpaste to clean it and it is good as new.
- Ada, Ohio United States
June 29, 2016
A. I made the same mistake of going swimming in a high chlorine swimming pool and hot tub at a hotel (I didn't have this problem at my municipal swimming pool) and it turned dark grey.
I rubbed it with toothpaste and within seconds the problem was resolved!
Careful with delicate rings though -- I have a heavy solid silver ring with a 5 mm width and a 1 mm thickness so I wasn't too worried about corrosion since it's a thick ring.
- Gaithersburg, Maryland
November 4, 2016
Well I just used the toothpaste tip on my White Gold wedding band, didn't have Crest type I just used what I had, and it works brilliantly, the band had literally turned black through use of bleach, it has come up like brand new. Thank you so much for that tip
Ellie England
- Cumbria England
February 18, 2018
Jewelry ruined by water
Q. Hello,
I recently moved to to a home that is off of the Fox River in Illinois.
The water is HORRIBLE- literally ruining my hair, (rust) and jewelry. For my fake or less than fine jewelry, Ive tried to place pieces in to a basic over the counter quick dip cleaning product. Any and all are ruined after this attempt at cleaning. My engagement ring is 10K white gold- the band is developing a orange tinge. The over the counter quick dip cleaning product does not really work. Does anyone have a good idea of what I can buy over the counter for my fine jewelry as well as for my not so fine jewelry? I'm so confused. Would
⇦this on
eBay or
Amazon [affil links]
work? Ive never encountered water this bad. I am currently waiting for water test results.
none of the above - Algonquin, Illinois
December 1, 2016
A. Hi Roberta. Sounds like you need a water filter. If your fridge has an icemaker/cold water server, you can probably get filtered cold water from it and see if it's an improvement.
We appended your posting to a thread where Tarn-X was apparently a problem and toothpaste was a solution. Good luck.
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
December 2016
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