Pewter Primer: a cheat sheet for all those fun questions
So you have fallen in love with pewter, who wouldn't! Here is some quick information to help you get started. Please reach out if you ever have any questions via this website or my linked Instagram account.
Pewter has a shockingly low melting point. It loves silver and they play well together under about 500 F. Over 500 silver and pewter can alloy, creating a bond that attacks silver and causes pitting. To this end, avoid cross-contamination whenever possible. DO NOT use the following tools on both pewter and silver:
Bench pins
Files
Soldering pads
Sandpaper
Rawhide or plastic hammers
Urethane pads
Saw blades (I mean, shouldn’t you break them too fast for this to be an issue)
Any wood tools/stumps
Steel tools with lots of pitting or heavy textures
If you are sharing a desk between pewter and silver you can put down paper any time you work on pewter. Any time I use silver on a common tool or desk I use it as an excuse to clean. Clean, wipe, and wax surfaces so that you remove pesky dust. Let’s be honest, the studio needed a cleaning anyway.
Handouts These handouts are free to use and download, but please provide artist credit.