Metallic finish wearing off. How can I protect the finish?

Heather Behrendt · #1 2014-12-22, 1:29pm

I recently had a customer complaint of the metallic finish from triton on the surface of a bead coming off. She said the bead was handled quite a bit and dulled a bit and she tried to polish it back to a shiny finish.

The finish came off because the polishing cloth had a mild abrasive to it, but I want to prevent that initial dulling of the metal. Is this possible? Would renaissance wax help?

I have some metallic beads in my personal collection that the metallic has rubbed off over several years, so I know this isn't an isolated incident.

This has happened to me with triton and aurae. The only other silver glass I use consistently on the surface is psyche and I have not had issues with it yet.

What has your experience been?

mandyjw · #2 2014-12-23, 4:54pm

Sadly I switched around many of my designs because I was really disappointed in how quickly Triton scratched or looked bad with light or normal wear. If someone has a good solution I'd love to hear it.

Heather Behrendt · #3 2014-12-23, 7:20pm

Did you find a different silver glass that lasts longer? Or did you just omit the triton?

Eileen · #4 2014-12-23, 10:10pm

Now I'm worried. At least two of the beads I just sold had a Triton raised stringer design

Heather Behrendt · #5 2014-12-23, 11:07pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eileen

Now I'm worried. At least two of the beads I just sold had a Triton raised stringer design

I've sold lots of metallic stringer stuff in the past and this is the first I've had someone rub off the design right away. I did have a piece in my personal jewelry stash that I wore a lot and and used for a few years that has had the same wearing away of metallic.

It still stinks, but at least they'll get a lot of use out of it. I also tend to rub and fiddle with my jewelry, so that probably accelerated the metallic wearing down.

Eileen · #6 2014-12-23, 11:16pm

Hmmm, I wonder if she wears some type of lotion or perfume or something that affected it.

pierces*designs · #7 2014-12-24, 7:55am

I wonder if Ren Wax would help?

Heather Behrendt · #8 2014-12-24, 10:35am

Quote:

Originally Posted by pierces*designs

I wonder if Ren Wax would help?

I got amazon prime as a christmas gift, so I'm going to give it a test run by buying some. In asking on FB about this issue, someone said they've used ren wax and it didn't adversely affect their glass pieces. So that's a good place to start.

I'm just kinda bummed because I want to make pieces that can last forever if taken care of properly. I can at least try this and have applying new wax once in a while as proper care instructions.

Any suggestions on how often the wax should be redone if it does work?

ESC · #9 2014-12-26, 2:46pm

Heather, none of the metallics are going to have the ability to stand up to constant wear. Think of these pieces as your moms' pearl necklace. Wear once in a while, store where they won't rub against other pieces, clean with soap and water. That metallic surface is extremely thin.

mandyjw · #10 2015-01-01, 7:19pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Heather Behrendt

Did you find a different silver glass that lasts longer? Or did you just omit the triton?

I just left out the triton and if it was a big part of the design I just stopped making it. Silver plum doesn't have quite the same smooth look.

mandyjw · #11 2015-01-01, 7:22pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by ESC

Heather, none of the metallics are going to have the ability to stand up to constant wear. Think of these pieces as your moms' pearl necklace. Wear once in a while, store where they won't rub against other pieces, clean with soap and water. That metallic surface is extremely thin.

I think that's good advice.

As for the renaissance wax I use it on my silver but I think it would rub off glass quickly and may even cloud it somewhat.