welding tarnishes silver?

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Quick Q for anyone who has the answer..How come when I weld for a long time, my silver ring tarnishes? When I was TIG welding a lot I thought it was because of the Hi-Freg. or something...but I've been MIG welding a lot recently, and after a long day of work, my ring is tarnished again. what gives?
Reply:uv rays???beats me..i dont wear any jewlery where i work.. you never know what will get caught in where.. ...zap!I am not completely insane..Some parts are missing Professional Driver on a closed course....Do not attempt.Just because I'm a  dumbass don't mean that you can be too.So DON'T try any of this **** l do at home.
Reply:I don't know either.....But I want to reiterate what Zap said.....NO JEWELRY (Including watches) WHILE I WORK!!!!!Patrick
Reply:Ditto, I wore a ring until a bit of spatter hit it (gold heats up quick apparently). It burned a ring around my finger.  And I have gotten it caught on stuff before.  Jewelry is dangerous in the shop!  That's why I don't have nipple rings DewayneDixieland WeldingMM350PLincoln 100Some torchesOther misc. tools
Reply:Ozone?
Reply:Are C-rings out as well then...?If you don't have the time to do it right, then you definitely don't have the time to do it over.
Reply:To re-iterate some basic shop safety:NO rings or jewelry!  Nothing to get caught or snagged on equipment.Brother-in-law lost his finger in an industrial/work accident because he was wearing his wedding band.  The ring snagged and caught, don't remember if it yanked the finger pretty much off or mashed it so badly that they had to amputate it.btw, the silver probably tarnishes because of the shielding gas disassociation from the arc and the general crud and gunk and chemicals that you are using in the shop.  Not to mention sweaty hands inside gloves.
Reply:Originally Posted by pulserOzone?
Reply:Originally Posted by enlpckBut why are you wearing a ring?And, if you are, why is it not completely covered by you glove?
Reply:Have you ever tried wearing the same gloves sometime when you are not welding?Ever think it might be the gloves and not the welding?Seems like the most logical jump would be toward the chemicals they use to tan the leather the gloves are made of. (Tanic acid I believe)Patrick
Reply:I've seen where other guys and myself also that have received some nasty scars from wearing jewelry while doing hot work.
Reply:whatever.. look..jewlery of any kind..any where is not permitted in the shop area..if your eyebrow ring gets caught in a drill press..then shame on you..if you ground yourself out because of a wedding/engagement/friendship/other ring that gets tangled with your filler wire...shame on you...if your "chains" around your neck get caught up in a lathe...then bye bye to you...get rid of it in a shop enviorment before it gets rid of you...and machinery dont say "opps i'm sorry" ...zap!I am not completely insane..Some parts are missing Professional Driver on a closed course....Do not attempt.Just because I'm a  dumbass don't mean that you can be too.So DON'T try any of this **** l do at home.
Reply:Tarnish occurs on non ferris metals (copper, silver, etc.) and is the same as rust is on steel.  They are both caused by oxidation.  It could be that you are working in an oxygen rich environment. I believe that cutting torches create this.  If I'm correct, a cutting torch idoesn't really cut metal, it oxidizes it to death.  Ever looked on the ground after making a cut?  No metal chips there, just dust!Hobart 140 Handler w/ gasHyperTherm Powermax 380 Plasmaoxy/acetylene
Reply:Ok, this is going to sound arrogant/cocky, but I dont intend it to sound that way. I feel I am extremely safety conscious. I own one piece of jewelry. a ring, which is covered by leather gloves 100% of my work-time which is not in a shop, or around any type of heavy machinery. Besides, I wasn't asking about shop safetly or jewelry while welding. Say it wasn't a ring, say it was a silver goblet I like to keep on my welding table for some odd reason Well so far, I think the sweat seems like the most likely culprit although I'm not sure that would cause it to tarnish so quickly It has never happened with the hot wrench, so I dont think thats the reason either.. I think I'm going to have to conduct some experiments! yay!  I am sorry to everyone that this got so far off topic... I appreciate everyones thoughts that were related to my question
Reply:Originally Posted by Shaggz00Ok, this is going to sound arrogant/cocky, but I dont intend it to sound that way. I feel I am extremely safety conscious. I own one piece of jewelry. a ring, which is covered by leather gloves 100% of my work-time which is not in a shop, or around any type of heavy machinery. Besides, I wasn't asking about shop safetly or jewelry while welding. Say it wasn't a ring, say it was a silver goblet I like to keep on my welding table for some odd reason Well so far, I think the sweat seems like the most likely culprit although I'm not sure that would cause it to tarnish so quickly It has never happened with the hot wrench, so I dont think thats the reason either.. I think I'm going to have to conduct some experiments! yay!  I am sorry to everyone that this got so far off topic... I appreciate everyones thoughts that were related to my question
Reply:Dude, I'm not going to put -MY- body part (Prince Albert or not : ) anywhere near industrial machinery or a hot wrench.My tool doesn't go near the shop tools.     He stays tucked away.To Shaggz00, do an experiment.  Clean off the ring like you normally would, then take it off tonight and stick it in the usual leather glove you wear when welding.  Look at it in the morning, if it's tarnished then it's the glove with the leather and sweat doing the tarnishing.  If not, then it's the glove with the leather, sweat, and the welding byproducts that is doing the tarnishing.Change the ring from silver to gold or titanium and there will be no tarnishing.  Or just take the ring off when you are going into the 'shop'.  No tarnish and safer that way.
Reply:I think Pulser's on to something with ozone.  Ozone is a strong oxidizing agent.  It may be generated by UV radiation from the arc; particularly true with gas shielded arcs when argon is used (AWS Welding Handbook).
Reply:I looked up silver tarnish on google-it seems everything talks about silver sulfide (not oxide).I believe the weld-smell has a tinge of egg smell indicating sulfur.By the way there are recipes for removing tarnish using aluminum foil/hot water and baking soda.
Reply:OK guys, bothered to google it, a company that sells silver tarnish cleaner has a "care of silver" page which states that silver tarnishes because of the following (and I quote):"What causes tarnish: Humidity and chemicals in the air cause silver to tarnish.  The most common tarnish causing elements are food (onions, eggs, mayonaisse, salad dressing, salty foods) salt, wool, felt, rubber bands, latex gloves, carpet padding, sulfur in the air, oily residue from our hands and fingers."So it looks like several culprets have already been identified by previous postings. In short, take off the ring.If you don't have the time to do it right, then you definitely don't have the time to do it over.