His last annealing should have burnt it off then, unless he lubricated it and made one more pass through a press and then he didn't heat it to soften it. The heating is to soften the metal, then he'd put it through a roller or press, which would have work hardened it. He could have left it hard or resoftened it for you, but in any case he should have burnt it off for you when he was finally done.
There's nothing he could have added that should have 'melded' INTO the metal What is it, exactly, that you are experiencing, that proves to you the lubricant is still there? Hard to say exactly how long you need to leave it in the oven, because as I said (from me being a silversmith) there shouldn't be anything on there to get rid of. But however long you leave it--and hour?--it won't hurt the silver. Try 350 degrees, unless he made the metal VERY thin for you. How thick is the strip? If you have a small torch, or one of those kitchen torches, you could quickly pass the silver through the flame--IF it's not too thin, the flame will not hurt the silver and should burn off anything exterior that is on the silver. But anything he could have put on the silver should be able to be removed by simple cleaning. Are you sure you are not seeing a smooth, flat, non-silvery look and thinking that is the lubricant? Sometimes when you manipulate silver a lot it takes on a different color than that of a shiny new coin. It's a flatter duller silver--unless you polish it back to bright. But I wouldn't think your jeweler would have polished it for you. No need to do that for your use. Did he perhaps polish it up so it was shiny again when he gave it back to you? Sometimes stainless steel pads are used to shine silver to bright. Maybe somehow you are seeing that? Though that, again, like any lubricant, should have come off with the cleaning you did. Samala, Renee -------Original Message------- I have boiled it in vinegar and even cola for half a hour! And then scrubbed them again to remove any silver compounds formed by contact with the acids. I will try the oven. Any what about time? How long?
