I'm relatively new to metals, and I purchased some gold filled disks from a new supplier. They came to me with a really rough lip around the edge. I have tried to remove it by tumbling with stainless steel shot and with a file and also with my dremel. It seems impossible to remove. Can anyone offer any suggestions?

Thank you in advance!

Gold Filled is a little fragile so you don't want wear away the gold layer with any abrasive method.

If you bought them from my Rings & Things I'd suggest sending them back for replacement and so we'd know our stock had rough edges.  Is this a flat disc or does it have a hole in the middle making it a bead? Is the rough edge on the outside edge or around the hole? If I understand your description it's not a bead.

If  you have a steel or agate burnishing tool (the kind you use to push down a bezel around a stone or to burnish metal clay) you might be able to round over the rough edge. That would mean doing them one by one.

Just a thought... is this single clad gold filled? That is, is one side gold with the back side brass? And the rough edge on the brass side. If so then your dremel with craytex tip used at an angle woud take off the rough edge.  Using it at an angle would avoid removing the gold from the top surface.

Russ,

Thank you for your reply. They are flat disks, about 3/4" in diameter and are 14K GF double clad. They do not have a hole, and the rough edge is the perimeter of the disk. Any advice you can offer would be greatly appreciated!

 Thanks for the clarification.

My only suggestion is to burnish down that rough edge with a steel burnishing tool.  Push it down into the disc, or onto the edge, don't try to rub it off.