Keeping silver clean

In my never-ending efforts to keep our silver shiny and polished (in
a big city near the ocean NOT an easy endeavor) I’ve ordered
polishing cloths from many different companies (Hagerty, Blitz,
Connoiseurs, and Rio); do any of you have a preference or believe
that one type or make of polishing cloth does a better job than
another? In your opinion does a particular polishing cloth leave the
silver more tarnish resistant than other types you’ve tried?

Also, do any of you use products like Hagerty’s Silversmiths Spray
Polish (comes in a blue aerosal can) or “Tarni Shield” (comes in a
black plastic squeeze bottle) by 3-M? Both products are supposed to
leave some sort of residue or chemical barrier on silver which slows
the rate of tarnishing. The spray by Hagerty in my opinion definitely
works, but on the back their is a warning that chemicals within are
cancer causing . . . In Taxco, Mexico all the shops seem to use the
3-M product, so it must work but its a little of a pain to work with,
takes a lot of extra time initially to clean the silver with it, but
if you don’t have to clean it again for a long while I guess it would
be worth it.

I cannot use any of the liquid chemical dips in my shop as we do not
have access to running water, and I’ve heard that over time they are
not good for silver; anyone know if this is actually true?

Finally, for what its worth, we use a machine called "speedbrite"
that works very well for cleaning silver.

Doug

I use Hagerty’s Spray Polish and sell it to my customers too. It
works great, and its easy to use too. I also use Hagerty’s Silver
Jewel Clean dip. If you dont have running water handy , keep a bucket
of water handy for rinse. Its speed of cleanup makes it worth it. And
it definitly does not harm the silver. I had a grandson of the
Hagerty family come into my store, when he 1st began selling for
them, and was able to have a lengthy conversation about all their
products. I even got him to clean an entire case full of silver
jewelry for us ,to demonstrate how effective their ‘dip’ was.Ed

Hello Doug,

It is a problem to keep the silver products clean in the store. An
effective way is polish them in walnut shells in a very fine grain
and some polish. If you do this in a centrifugal machine, the come out
clean in after 10 minute running. No extra handling necessary. A good
machine is from OTEC. See www.otec.de Tumbling take much longer. If you
take them out you only have brush them of and ready to show of
again.

For storing I advise an anti tarnish paper. A good and cheap one can
be delivered by www.silverprotection.com

Greetings

Martin Niemeijer
Silverprotection www.silverprotection.com
info@silverprotection.com;

 For storing I advise an anti tarnish paper. A good and cheap one
can be delivered by www.silverprotection.com 

You can buy Pacific cloth (cotton flannel impregnated with
anti-tarnish compound) at most big fabric stores. It’s what
silverware chests are lined with. Locally (metrowest MA) I bought
some for about $10/yard, 60" wide. You can line cabinets, wrap
supplies and stock, or sew storage bags.

Tas

Tas, Silver can also be kept tarnish free for an extended period
while stored by placing it it a sealed plastic bag along with a ball
of crumpled up aluminum foil. I don’t know why it works, but it
does. Jerry in Kodiak

  Tas, Silver can also be kept tarnish free for an extended period
while stored by placing it it a sealed plastic bag along with a
ball of crumpled up aluminum foil. I don't know why it works, but
it does. Jerry in Kodiak 

Cool! My hubby’s dad told me years ago that silver can be cleaned
by dissolving baking soda in warm water and putting the silver in it
in contact with a piece of aluminum foil. Wonder why it works
without the soda too?

Tas