I received a lovely antique statue of a greyhound for Christmas.
It’s some sort of metal, apparently silver plated. It tarnishes quite
fast. It shines up easily with a “sunshine cloth”, but starts to
tarnish again within hours, turning that very recognizable ugly
sulfur-oxide yellowish brown color. Is there anything I can put on
this statue to make it a lower-maintenance item, maybe some type of
wax or something that’s not a lacquer?
–Kathy Johnson
Feathered Gems Jewelry
http://www.featheredgems.com
Kathy,
would suggest Renaissance wax, which was developed to protect metal
surfaces of objects in museums. But I don’t really know all the
pros and cons, except that it is not recommended for anything that
comes in contact with food. I used it on a copper vase, and it has
kept it tarnish free for several months. I’d appreciate more
about this wax from others on the list who’ve used it.
Thanks.
Dian Deevey
Some polishes contain an “anti-tarnish” ingredient, or at least
avertise that they do so. I use Connoisseurs Jewelry Wipes, and
whereas they don’t prevent silver from tarnishing , I believe that
they do retard it’s formation somewhat.
Lee Einer
I heard that if you gold plate silver then rhodium plat over the
gold plating you shouldn’t have to worry about tarnishing. Craig