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Hello,
I've bought some bare silver wire, and I have teflon tubing, for some DIY twisted pair cables. I was planning on cleaning the silver oxide off, then putting it in the teflon, but I'm concerned about the oxidation coming right back. Any suggestions?Dan
Follow Ups:
If the silver wire you have is oxidizing that fast, it may be
sterling silver. This does not work well at all for audio
cables. You will need fine silver (99.95% pure) or higher
purity silver to sound good.To remove silver oxide, put boiling water in a glass tray
with aluminum foil in the bottom. Then add some baking soda,
about 1/2 cup to one quart water. Then immerse the silver.
The oxide will move from the silver wire to the aluminum
foil almost instantly.If you want a good interconnect kit, go to empiricalaudio.com
and look at theirs.
You have read the previous posts, it probably is silver sulfide. I would recommend cleaning it off with silver polish, rinsing perhaps with alcohol as well as water, and coating the ends of the teflon tubes with clear nail polish, etc to keep the air from getting to the silver. Dr. Van den Hul recommended this on his cables, because the space between the insulation' breathes'
with changing temperatures in the room. Q dope is an alternative end cap material.
to the air for 11 years and it has not changed one bit. It did start off clean, which is always a help. I think if there is any tanrish to begin with cleaning it as you suggested is a good idea. The silver I use has been in both dry and damp climates.I also had some copper that was tarnished that I cleaned and inserted into teflon with the ends open. That copper is still shiny and clean. I think getting the impurities off the surface is one of the important factors.
ja in sunny and breezy, the cactus are blooming, Tucson, AZ
tarnishes pretty quickly, no? Seems like you guys are saying that as long as I clean it, and am careful with it, it won't tarnish at all. Interesting .. maybe I'll just stick it in the teflon and forget about itDan
You are confusing sterling silver with pure or fine silver.
Only fine or high-purity silver is suitable for cables.
I have had some silver with "tarnish". It was sent back. I don't know what it was but the silver I do use has had no reaction to the atmosphere and is as bright as the day I got it. I do use gloves when handling to keep my oils and acids from getting on the wire but even on some areas that I know I did touch it has not turned.ja a light breeze is blowing in Tucson, AZ
Not muc moisture in the air out in the Desert. That's why you guys have all those grea archeological sites and we have landfills.Out here on the beach in sunny So. Cal (Los Angeles) all that salty fog mixed with smog eats through anything not encased in that ultra-glass they store nuclear fuel rods in.
Would Progold work on silver?
monsoons. How would you like 100 to 110 with 95% humidity? It sucks but I have gotten use to it.I find that Pro Gold works some on silver but very, very little is needed. I prefer none on silver as it actually seems to react with it and form a grey tarnish.
I live in Long Beach and Bellflower for about 13 years. 82 was the last time there. Sorry, but you can have it. It was such a beautiful place but destroyed by so many people. I was born in Santa Monica, it was cool in the 50's.
ja in cloudy, rainy, and stormy, Flower of the west - Tucson, AZ
Went to LB State in `82, before heading to USC (not a trust funded preppy). Moved back to the LB in `93-96, bartended at the Bayshore on 2nd St. and did some serious liver damage. You're right it was great before the big money caused real estate prices to shoot through the roof. Now it is a wannabe Newport Beach!I also did the Santa Monica/Venice thing for almost 10 years, got tired of having my stuff stolen. Loved the area though, especially the bars.
depending on what type of silver wire you indeed have. Pure silver does not oxidize at room temp/humidity etc. It's most likely a tarnish caused by the nitrogen in the atmosphere. How it affects the sonics if at all or if it's as negative as say oxidation on copper i don't know. Just my 2.
Sulfides causes silver to tarnish most rapidly. Keep the eggs away from the cables......
with teflon tubing. Both ends are open to the air and in 11 years, I have not had any problem what so ever. I buy a guaranteed purity of silver from jewelry supply houses, two of them, that I know and trust. I do not have a problem with oxidizing. I think that making up your own IC's and speaker cables can be fun and easy. Too often, it is made hard by using too many steps that are not necessary. I speak from experience and years of use that there is big money to be saved by dealing with reputable dealers and big money to be wasted by dealing with people who sell hyper inflated priced silver.Just my opinion and 11 years of using silver. BTW, my original IC's are as shiny and as the first day and you need to use dead soft silver.
ja in sunny, friendly, Tucson AZ
Wrap the whole works in Teflon tape. Make sure your silver is not jewelers silver, as the purity is somewhat suspect. Here is a recipe that may work well for you:
Jewelers silver is generally fine silver, which is 99.95%
pure. This is good enough for audio cables, although
ghihger purities will sound slightly better and oxidize less.
99.999 from a couple of sources. They will guarantee this in writing and I believe that most of the good silver for wire comes from these sources, though I could be wrong, but I don't care as it works great for me.Thank you for your information and any other ideas you might have on silver.
ja in overcast and cold, Tucson, AZ
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