03-27-2009, 04:37 PM
Drawing from my experience as a jeweler, the amount of cleaning up depends on which method he uses to repair it such as lead solder which can be done with a soldering iron or a low carat gold solder which requires a torch. There would be little to no clean up with lead solder but with the torch, it's going to be a lot because for gold solder to work the best, the area would have to be smooth and clean, making it necessary to use a fine abrasive wheel for the prep, using solder flux, etc., then the clean up afterwards in my opinion it is not worth it. For $10 it seems like it will be a simple lead solder job but he should use only the minimal amount of solder because everyone knows what lead solder looks like after it is exposed to air, it turns a dark gray ugly color that can't be changed by any method.
I agree with Kirchgoens, Brendan, and for me it would have been better to put the $10 towards another medal than to see the probable damage that will be done to this medal by the repair. I also agree with Jeff, repairing and/or cleaning will create the ugly stepchild that nobody really wants at least for display.
I agree with Kirchgoens, Brendan, and for me it would have been better to put the $10 towards another medal than to see the probable damage that will be done to this medal by the repair. I also agree with Jeff, repairing and/or cleaning will create the ugly stepchild that nobody really wants at least for display.
