What I learned this week

I took a (real life) class a couple of weeks ago, we made rings with bezels (picture to follow eventually). In the morning, we practiced with copper using silver solder. Somebody asked if there was copper solder because the silver does stand out. Yes, it exists. But it's possible to turn your silver solder copper-colored. It's as easy as dipping your steel pliers into the pickle. I thought I remembered that it was supposed to happen instantly.
Well, I tried it yesterday and, no, it didn't happen instantly. It took a google search to get it right.
I don't have any "before" pictures, sorry, didn't think of it.
But here it what my little heart looked like when it came out of the pickle:

Not very pretty, right? But no silver solder, either.
And here is what it looks like after I scrubbed it lightly with steel wool:

A little better, right? Not superbright and shiny but still no silver solder showing (and I used quite a bit). I didn't scrub too hard, I was concerned I'd end up with the solder showing again.
And I didn't use my steel pliers, either. I used a piece of annealed steel wire from the hardware store and left it lying on top of my heart. And everything soaked in the pickle for quite a while, I didn't time it, sorry.
Here's where I found all the info that explained it in detail:
http://www.jewelrymakingdaily.com/blogs/daily/archive/2012/04/04/alternative-metals-tips-for-soldering-copper-and-brass.aspx