Pickling is an essential process as it removes the ‘fire scale’ (oxides) which forms on the surface of the silver whilst soldering with the torch.

The heart is immersed in pickling solution for around 5-10 minutes which removes most of the fire scale. The heart is removed using copper tongs so as not to contaminate the pickling solutions, then, drenched in a bowl of water and dried.  I then rub the heart with a wire brush to clean the surface and remove any last remaining fire scale.