Reviewer:
Roxy Podlogar
from Boulder , CO United States
Hi Roxy! If the bonding is not complete on sterling silver, there are a few possible reasons for it. I'll explain each and let you know how to cure the problem in each case.
1. Oxidation prevented complete bonding. There needs to be a thicker layer of fine silver on the surface of the metal. Copper based sterling silver must be depletion gilded to bring up a layer of fine silver. If the layer is not thick enough, copper can migrate to the surface, oxidize and prevent bonding. Try an extra heating/pickling cycle or two on your sterling to solve this problem.
2. Temperature was not hot enough. The gold glows very brightly while the silver is a dull salmon at fusing temperatures. Turn out the lights during firing. This way you can better see the colors of the metals. The gold will be blindingly bright orange and the silver will have a dull salmon glow at the right temperature. This temperature has to be held for the entire firing to assure complete fusing.
3. Gold applied too thickly. The gold is applied in 2 coats and must be dried completely between coats. The first coat is thin, the second is thicker. The proper thickness is about 2 pieces of paper.
4. Firing time was too short. Use a timer to accurately gauge the firing time.
-Mardel
The instructions for use were very clear but my results were not as good as the sample shown. After following the instructions explicitly, the gold flaked off in some areas. I don't know how to prevent this in the future. I was using sterling silver.
accent gold for silver 
