Have you ever wondered exactly what gunmetal jewelry is made of? I design and make jewelry like the earrings shown here. When I opened the drawer of my gunmetal components some had a green corrosion on them. I started to throw them away but thought perhaps I could find out if they could be saved. I snooped around some to see what I could find out about what gunmetal actually is and if it can be cleaned.
Gunmetal jewelry is an alloy of 90% copper and 10% tin. Gunmetal also refers to a blue-black finish caused by electroplating a coat of iron on an item and coloring it in a chemical solution. Electroplate is a thin coating of metal applied to the outside of a base metal through an electrical process. The item is suspended in a chemical solution and current flows from a piece of metal to the item depositing a layer of metal onto the item.
So how does one clean gunmetal jewelry you ask? Believe it or not, it is very easy to do with an everyday object. A pencil eraser! Yes, it is true. Use a pencil eraser to rub away the corrosion on your gunmetal items and it will disappear!
I hope you find this tidbit of information helpful in cleaning any of your gunmetal jewelry.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and knowledge on this topic. This is really helpful and informative, as this gave me more insight to create more ideas and solutions for my plan. I would love to see more updates from you.
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