Repair Potmetal Antique Jewelry Box Handles with Super Alloy 1
A MuggyWeld customer recently approached Mike at a classic car show with a unique problem. He had purchased a rare antique jewelry box for his girlfriend, and as he was transporting the jewelry box to the car he accidentally dropped it, breaking the zinc die cast handle. Zinc die cast is a soft metal with a low melting point that is typically hard to repair, but our customer knew exactly what to do–find the Muggy Weld booth!
Mike made the repair within minutes of the part breaking, so there was no need to pre-clean oxidation from the handle before beginning to solder. Using a propane torch and Super Alloy 1 rod and flux, the irreplaceable zinc die cast part was as good as new in minutes.
First, he joined the parts together to close the gap, then the customer secured the two parts together while Mike used a propane torch to pre-heat the zinc die cast parts. Notice his technique: dip the rod into the flux, apply the flux to the zinc die cast parts, keep the heat moving, and add the rod when the flux has turned a root beer brown color. Super Alloy 1’s flux acts as an exact temperature guide, allowing the user to visually see when it’s time to add the filler rod.
One the parts were joined, Mike added a bit more rod and flux to achieve a good bond with both pieces. Mike used a Super Alloy 5 rod to flatten out the solder, then used water to clean the part. We do not recommend using water to cool parts, as this may cause re-cracking, but in this instance because he was in a public setting where customers could grab the part, he opted to cool it down instantly with water. The customer was then able to remove the residual solder and sand it into shape.
Another successful repair with Super Alloy 1 multi-metal solder.
Note: Please observe all AWS Safety & Health Guidelines when using Muggy Weld products.
