Removing Plier Marks With a Tumbler

by Susan
(Washington, DC)

I thought I had heard from someone that the tumbler will remove little dings and marks made by your pliers on your handmade silver jewelry pieces. On the other hand, I've heard you can polish them but there is no removal of the dings. Which is true?


Stacy's Answer:

Susan, The tumbler will remove small burrs from the metal and will diminish the dings, but will not remove them completely. You can sand or file them out before tumbling. Also, adding a patina will help make them less obvious. As you learn not to have a white knuckled "death grip" on your pliers, the plier marks and dings will happen less and less.

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May 24, 2014
 tumbling to remove patina on raised areas
by: jodi

hi stacy - I dabble in PMC and when I made some pieces a year ago - I polished them in my tumbler (with steel shot and a couple drops of JOY)after firing. so bright and shiny!! then I used patina gel to get the patina color I desired. I remember tumbling them again to get the patina off the raised areas. they tumbled beautifully and came out so shiny with the patina left only in the creases.

when I made some new pieces recently - I tried to tumble them after the patina process and none of the patina came off of the raised areas!! was I supposed to add something additional to the steel shot to remove the patina? should I have added DAWN and not JOY? (I did neutralize the LOS with water and baking soda first) I can't remember if I added anything different last time and I don't see anything in my notes. so, I had to use a sunshine cloth and hand polish. ugh! (fortunately they were small pieces) :0)

anyway - looked through your posts and didn't see this addressed. wondering if you know the answer. thanks for all the usefuls posts and tips!!

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