Ionic cleaners to remove tarnish

Jewelry Discussion
1

Ionic cleaners take tarnish off in a snap - correct? Is this just
glorified “Tarnex” (“as seen on TV”)? Do they remove Liver of
Sulphur treatments that came not quite as planned?

Just curious as they came up in the discussion about ultrsonics vs
ionics.

Thanks - Justine

2 
Ionic cleaners take tarnish off in a snap - correct?

Yes. That is correct. They are worth the investment if you work with
a lot of silver jewelry. One note, Ionic cleaners will also remove
any blackening or patinas.

Rick Copeland
Silversmith and Lapidary Artisan
Rocky Mountain Wonders
Colorado Springs, Colorado
rockymountainwonders.com

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3 
Ionic cleaners take tarnish off in a snap - correct? Is this just
glorified "Tarnex" ("as seen on TV")? Do they remove Liver of
Sulphur treatments that came not quite as planned?

Ionic cleaners do take off tarnish quickly. It is not Tarn-X, but
uses a small electrical charge and salt to “clean” the metal. When
removing tarnish from silver, it is best to do a small amount at a
time, rather than the full cycle, and wipe/rinse the tarnish off as
you go along. It will remove any oxidizers very simply. A freshly
applied patina comes off in a jiff. Patinas that have been on for
awhile take just a little longer. I use the ionic extensively when
teaching patinas because it frees up the torches and is so quick. No
worries about heat destroying delicate stones either. If you use
non-ammoniated cleaners with a pinch of salt, then it’s safe for
everything. Rinse well afterwards. Personally I use a product
manufactured by EcoSense (usual disclaimer) in my ionic, tumbler and
ultrasonic. A bench jeweler turned me onto it and it does a very good
job with all the cleaning equipment. It’s very concentrated, so a
little bit goes a long way. Unlike Simple Green, I’m not allergic to
it and it has no smell. An ionic cleaner is one of those “I can’t
live without it, and wish I had bought it sooner” tools.

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