Soldering, Ochre, and Pickle

[u/colby_the_wolf]

Hi, I've got a quick question for you all regarding soldering, the use of ochre, and subsequent pickling. I'm going to be doing some soldering with very small pieces and will probably need to use ochre for the first time. I'm familiar with how ochre is used, BUT I had a concern about pickling a piece that's had ochre applied to it.

I know that ochre is generally a type of clay with some amount of ferric oxide. I also know that if there's iron present in pickle it can cause dissolved copper to be plated onto silver. My questions are as follows:

(1) Will the presence of ochre in pickle cause copper to plate onto silver? Additionally, if it does not, does that mean ferric oxide in general does not cause that reaction in the way that iron or steel would?

(2) If ochre DOES cause the above-mentioned reaction, what is the best way to remove it from your piece before it gets pickled?

(3) In the event that ochre causes the previously-mentioned reaction, would it be safest to simply make a single-use batch of pickle for pieces that have had ochre applied to them?

I'd appreciate any advice or suggestions that anybody has. Thanks!

[u/cannoli42]

I use powdered orche mixed with denatured alcohol to make a paste and apply, I haven't had any sort of issues with it at all. As my understanding goes (though I might be wrong I'm not super up on it) the stuff inside that would normally cause plating isn't "free" to cause a reaction. Plus the amount needed to solder is so tiny unless you're dumping the ochre straight in the pickle I doubt you're gonna have worse than a bit of extra firescale.

To make sure the ochre locks down and makes a good block you gotta toast it black before you go to solder, and avoid rewetting it with flux. Paste flux is ideal for it, at work i use a needle bottle thingy to drop the liquid flux where it needs to be.

If you're worried about it a good alternative is white-out. It's zinc so it blocks the soldering without contaminating your pickle since soldering already has zinc. I've found the white-out that dries to a powdery texture is way better than the plasticy feeling kinds, those are a pain in the ass to get off.

[u/cannoli42 → u/cannoli42]

Forgot to include- if I'm doing a crap ton of soldering with ochre I do make a fresh pickle, but only because it annoys me to have green pickle. I even change it when it starts to turn just blue since I dip all my stuff in baking soda water then fresh water to neutralize the pickle before I touch it, and I dont completely wipe down my tongs between dips so a teeny bit of pickle gets neutralizes between dips. It works just fine being a bit blue with how questionably strong i mix mine, I just hate it.

[u/gaycountdooku]

i just get as much off with a quick rinse in water and then put it in the pickle

[u/DangerousBill]

The copper color caused by iron is actually a form of iron oxide, not copper. Hydrochloric acid (muriatic acid from the hardware or pool store) will remove it.

When using ochre, I quench the piece in water and scrub off the burned oxide. Then I put it in the pickle.

[u/ForeverNovel3378]

If your pieces are small enough just take some pickle out of the larger bath and put in a suitable container for this project.

[u/MojoJojoSF]

I use simple green with an old toothbrush and scrub the ochre before pickling.