Good day,
I feel compelled to again mention the ease at which tarnish may be
eliminated before you have to resort to silver polish. See the
results from simply using Windex on this sterling waste bowl:
Herman Silver Restoration & Conservation: New Finding in Tarnish Removal Always go for the least abrasive
cleaning method FIRST!
Jeff Herman
I actually use aluminum foil, baking soda and boiling hot water on
jewelry that will tolerate it…ie…not on anything with heat
sensitive stones such as opals…The chemical reaction seems to
get the worst of the tarnish, though occasionally, I will have to
‘rinse and repeat’ on extremely tarnished pieces. I use this a lot
on my cast filigree because repolishing a couple hundred pieces just
isn’t an option all the time! On these, I rinse them well
afterwards, and then tumble in stainless steel shot with dawn, a
little water and a pinch of citric acid.
Jeanne
Jeannius.com
Thanks for the tip. I will give this a try. I got an ionic cleaner
to help with fragile stones and pearls, and am disappointed. It
leaves weird hard to remove tarnish in crevices, and only sometimes
takes it off. Hand cleaner or winded would be an easier option.
Melissa
Jeanne,
Please be aware that this process is electro-stripping small amounts
of silver from your piece and opening the pores of the metal. Using
this technique will actually allow tarnish to develop more quickly.
Most makers and collectors aren’t aware of this phenomenon
Jeff Herman