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Sterling Silver Care Guide (Instead of Polishing)

post #1 of 33
9/25/11 at 6:34pm
Thread Starter 
I have been slowly building a .925 sterling cufflink collection over the last couple of years and have decided to go public with both the collection -- posted in the cufflink damage thread -- and a simple care guide for those of you who understand that, it ain't *patina* it's *tarnish.*

Here's a pair of Georg Jensen (Danish modern designer) cufflinks as purchased from eBay:

186

145

Too tarnished to wear (in respectable company).

Here's the same pair after cleaning using the non-invasive technique described below.

177

193

What do I do? Here's a SBS (step-by-step) Guide to remove tarnish (silver sulfide) from silver items:
  1. Put a piece of aluminum foil in a pot.
  2. Add purified water. (Brita filtered will do.)
  3. Add a couple of heaping tablespoons of baking soda.
  4. Add a healthy pinch of salt.
  5. Bring the water to a boil, stirring the baking soda/salt up from the bottom.
  6. Add the silver pieces making sure that they remain in constant contact with the foil.
  7. After a few minutes, take the bot from the heat. Fish out the silver pieces.
  8. Let them cool. Rub gently with a paper towel.
  9. Finish the process with a silver polishing cloth.

For additional information on how this works (and a safer procedure), Click Here.

Here's another before/after example. This is a Georg Jensen tie tack (which I use as a lapel pin).

Before:
350 350

After:
350 350
Edited by Fred H. - 9/25/11 at 6:50pm
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post #2 of 33
9/25/11 at 7:00pm
Thread Starter 
A few more AFTER examples:

215

170

171

178

134

112

BTW, I had to trash the first photos I took because my orange sweater was reflected in ALL of the shots!
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post #3 of 33
9/25/11 at 7:48pm
These look GREAT Fred. Is that top pair in the second post Hans Hansen?
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post #4 of 33
9/25/11 at 8:51pm

How does this differ from the various pre-formulated chemicals you can buy?

 

That last tie clip is quiet interesting. Is it also Jensen? If it's not too much trouble I'd like to see it from the side.

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post #5 of 33
9/25/11 at 9:11pm
Fred, beautiful cufflinks and results! Thank you for taking the time to do all the photography.
I am no Chemist but the Baking Soda is caustic and that alone would remove the tarnish.

2 methods I use on silver are :
Method 1: Few drops of water in some baking soda, mix ro paste. then work into the silver by hand/old toothbrush. Results are almost immediate but not as good as yours.
Mehtod 2: Small margarine tub. Place alminum foil in tub. Add lemon juice (Real Lemon or equiv.). Place silver into the mix, make sure it contacts the aluminum. Leave 60 seconds or as needed. Cleans silver same results as your results -but a warning- it releases some deadly gas (Aluminum Hydroxide?) Should be done outdoors.

I have no idea if your method or the methods I use are safe fir the silver or harms it in any way?
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post #6 of 33
9/25/11 at 10:04pm
wow, those look great.
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post #7 of 33
9/25/11 at 11:00pm

The difference is absolutely fantastic. I'm afraid the only method I'm familiar with is mixing water with a bit of baking soda. But it does work like a charm.

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post #8 of 33
9/26/11 at 4:36am
thanks for sharing Fred.
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post #9 of 33
9/26/11 at 4:41am
I do love a good DIY guide. Great results.
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post #10 of 33
9/26/11 at 5:46am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gdot View Post

These look GREAT Fred. Is that top pair in the second post Hans Hansen?

Yes, Hans Hansen (and one of my favorite pair).
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kent Wang View Post

How does this differ from the various pre-formulated chemicals you can buy? That last tie clip is quiet interesting. Is it also Jensen? If it's not too much trouble I'd like to see it from the side.

Yes, Kent it's GJ. Additional photos:

125
128

Interesting that you can actually read the hallmarks on these when they're clean!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Man Of Lint View Post

Fred, beautiful cufflinks and results! Thank you for taking the time to do all the photography. I am no Chemist but the Baking Soda is caustic and that alone would remove the tarnish.

Yep, the baking soda is the reactive agent. Using the boiling water and the salt help the reaction. If there is a lot of tarnish, some hydrogen sulfide (rotten egg smelling gas) may be released.
Quote:
Originally Posted by atila View Post

wow, those look great.

Thanks, guys. I've been a long-time collector of WWII memorabilia (mostly USAAF silver wings and colonel insignia). I've been using this process successfully to clean up items that are easily 75+ years old.
Edited by Fred H. - 9/26/11 at 9:24am
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post #11 of 33
9/26/11 at 6:06am
Really good tips here. We find Pre-Lim, which is a proprietary cleaner made by Picreator is a really good non damaging cleaner for things you can't dunk. The same company make a product called Renaissance Wax that helps stop tarnishishing after polishing. Both are used in the British Museum and we find very good - every brass/nickel/sterling silver buckle we sell is treated with Renaissance, I'm a big fan.

Charlie
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post #12 of 33
9/26/11 at 6:52am

how would you clean bigger items like candle sticks?

 

(p.s. thanks for the tips!)

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post #13 of 33
9/26/11 at 8:47am
Thanks Fred!

I thought those were Hansen from looking at the design of the back, which matches some Hansens of mine. They are a fine pair and are of a design that I've not seen before - unfortunately I will now be obsessed with finding myself a pair.........biggrin.gif but that's the fun of collecting I guess.

Interesting that you have such good results with this hot water and baking soda method - as I've tried it before and was very disappointed with the results - obviously I did something wrong though - as your results are impressive. (I wonder if I used tap water)

I'll try it again next time I polish. I just did my whole collection a month or so ago - I have previously convinced myself that I appreciated the 'mellow glow' of them when not highly polished - but seeing yours all polished up to a sheen is making me reconsider!
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post #14 of 33
9/26/11 at 11:36am
Very cool and extremely useful.

Do you have any cufflinks with stone or enamel which are not (I assume) suitable for boiling? How do you clean those?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fred H. View Post


Finish the process with a silver polishing cloth.

This step kind of made me laugh, I have to admit. How much difference does the final polishing make? Do you have any before/after pictures without this last step?
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post #15 of 33
9/26/11 at 12:04pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bounder View Post

Very cool and extremely useful. (1) Do you have any cufflinks with stone or enamel which are not (I assume) suitable for boiling? How do you clean those? (2) This step kind of made me laugh, I have to admit. How much difference does the final polishing make? Do you have any before/after pictures without this last step?

(1) Have tried this on a .925 pair with a stone inlay. No problemo.

(2) The polishing cloth is needed only for the final luster. Otherwise the finish is a bit *matte* for lack of a better way to put it.

The problem with POLISHING silver is that you are actually removing the very top layer of silver. The process I have described minimizes this by turning the silver that's in the silver oxide (tarnish) back into elemental silver. I have a polishing cloth from *Fire and Ice* which I use lightly to get the final sheen. It's a night/day difference in effort and result.
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