Soft solder

I hope to begin a project relating to the use of lead-based soft
solders to repair or restore precious metals in the past. The
project will look at the problems of removal, old and traditional
recipes for such removal, diffusion and other 'damage' to surfaces,
and various aspects relating to composition (including a comparative
study of the joins on precious metals made using modern 'lead-free'
soft solders).

The initial stage is to collate what has been done to date.

If any conservator  has experience relating to this subject that
they would be willing to share, I would be most grateful. The
results of any past metallographic or SEM study of joint sections
would be particularly useful.

Dr Jack Ogden
Specialist for the technology of ancient and historic metals and
jewellery Institute of Conservation
Hildesheim


                                  ***
                  Conservation DistList Instance 15:79
                  Distributed: Wednesday, May 22, 2002
                       Message Id: cdl-15-79-011
                                  ***