Thread: *HELP* Silver/Gold coming off beads....beads are black?

Hi Ladies, I need your help. So I just got a used costume and it's great for the price. Unfortunetly the seller did not mention the fact that most of the silver beads are in the process of turning of have turned black, and that the gold are also starting to chip .w.:

so, what IYO is the best option to make the silver (especially the silver since it has turned black) and gold *sparkle* again?

I'm hoping for some suggestions that do NOT involve rebeading, though I'm thinking that would probably be the best.

Thanks.

that always happens. The only way to avoid it is to use these beads from a manufacturer in Japan and they are so expensive that it becomes cost prohibitive. If they are hanging on fringe you can repaint them with model paint. If they are laying against fabric then that is harder.

didn't some people have luck combining model paint and infinite patience?

Thanks - All the beads are part of multiple strings of fringe which are attached to the bra (the worst) and the belt.

What should I repaint them with? Is there something special? or works better? I'm clueless on what things to use, but ok, once I have those things in hand ,r:;

If they are fringe, you may be farther ahead to simply replace the fringe.

{{{HUGS}}}

heres what i did one time and it lasted almost a year and took me ten minutes. I dont know if i got extremely lucky or what but i actually laid the costume on some newspaper. taped off sections i didnt want painted then quickly combed and separated the fringe. then i took a can or silver spray paint and quicly painted a coat. let dry. then after some time did the same to the underside and that was it and it worked for some time. dont know if spray paint is the best thing but it was a great quick fix.

painting fringe is easy! You'll do fine with model paint from the craft store.

Originally Posted by SaNoorah

Thanks - All the beads are part of multiple strings of fringe which are attached to the bra (the worst) and the belt.

What should I repaint them with? Is there something special? or works better? I'm clueless on what things to use, but ok, once I have those things in hand ,r:;

I had this same situation. I thought about spraying with paint from a can as described by a Bhuzzer above, but in the end chose to hand-paint the tarnished silver beads (on the fringe of a Turkish style costume) with acrylic silver paint from Michael's. It worked.

The hardest part was finding silver paint that matched the original -- in my experience this was impossible as no paint compares to the shiny silver or gold that you see on beads. My best option was a frosted silver paint. The color difference is noticeable up close, however it also looked much better than chipped beads that were white underneath!

I recall previous threads on this subject -- I think nail polish might help as well.

Yes, Nail Polish. I posted same question about vintage scratched plastic colored beads- Satin Worship recommended Nail Polish. It worked! Perfect as I had it on hand and it was a great way to use up an overabundance of Nail Polish colors.

Somebody in the past mentioned touch-up paint from the car supply store. I recall the reasoning is that paint for cars is made to stand up to all kinds of environmental abuse.

A good quaity crafters acrylic paint, a butt load of patience painting each bead, and a light sprayig of a non-yellowing crafters varnish have helped me rehabilitate several, wih long lasting results.

So I just got a beading and sequining book and in the first chapter it talks about beads. It says if they are seed beads that are lined with silver then the silver gets tarnished and you can bleach them to fix it. Not sure that is what you are talking about, but I thought it was a good tip.