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Antiques! => Antique Questions Forum => Topic started by: dreamerscove on June 02, 2010, 10:17:35 pm
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Hiya!
I've got a few silver lotus thingys ;) They really need a bath! Should I clean them?
Peace
Lee
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My take on Cleaning my Silver is the stuff I have or rather we have (She has more) is I clean the stuff we use or Display, looks much better. If I am going to sell the item I usually leave it up to the buyer. Then if the item is really old like Antique I usually leave it alone, many people like the look of silver unpolish and old looking. The other point is to make sure you don't over polish your items, esp. silver plate, it will wear off after some time. The items we use for Holiday and special occ. I polish them just before use, and then a good cleaning afterwards and then wait until we use them the next time. Some other points about cleaning your silver. After use, clean it right away, always gently hand wash them, dry them off, let them cool then put the back in the cabinet. This may be more info then you ask for but some good points about cleaning silver. Many silver esp. has been cleaned wrong that it makes them pretty much worth less, just look at half the stuff at the thrift stores and you will see what I mean.
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Is the baking soda bath the best way to clean silver plate? They are pretty and I'd like to put them out for display but they look sad atm
Peace
Lee
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It's pretty tough to come up with a method that won't eventually damage or destory silver-plated items , when cleaning/polishing them , dreamerscove .
The method I think you're talking about (baking soda/salt/warm water & aluminum) creates an electro-chemical action that not only removes silver oxide (tarnish) , but actual silver as well , and deposits it upon the aluminum .
That process , just like using a paste-type polish , removes the silver that has been deposited/bonded with/to the usually less-attractve metals underneath it , esp if the item is immersed in the solution for extended amounts of time .
Eventually , the silver plating is just gone & the 'ugly-child' metal underneath it shows through , sometimes in areas where you'd rather not see it .
Ultrasonic cleaning gently removes the least amount of metal or oxides of the metal , but that means sending it out to be done , or buying an expensive (& possibly large) ultrasonic unit .
If your item is not an expensive/valuable/rare/fragile one , I guess you can use any method that will work for you .
If your item is not used for food purposes , you can consider coating it with a protectant (to slow the oxidizing process) after it's cleaned/polished to your satisfaction .
The environment where you display/store your item can quickly affect how quickly it tarnishes , too (such as tobbacco/candle/incense/cooking smokes) .
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My opinion for whatever it's worth... don't clean.
I love the aged look of silver the blacker the better and if I wanted a shiny and new looking piece I'll go buy a new silver item.
Like antiques to look like antiques and not sparkling like there out of a showroom.
Maybe it's weird but I see beauty in patina and age and would shake my head and pass on a cleaned silver item that I feel is ruined.
To each their own but you can keep the cleaned stuff.JMO.
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I have a ultrasonic machine for jewelry but it's not quite big enough to hold these pieces.
Silver isn't our normal purchase but for 99c who can complain.
Of course to buy any silver at the goodwill you have to compete with blue-hairs esp in the silverware isle LOL I think they're worth points ;) jk
Peace
Lee
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On my silver spoons, some of which are more than 100 years old, I try to clean them enough to give them basic maintenance against corrosion and staining, but not so much that it harms them. I like to polish every six months to one year. Doing right before the family comes at Christmas is a good idea! I found that if I wait too long, and the tarnish gets very black, sometimes it can leave tarnish stains that don't come off easily. So I think it's not good to let it build up for years and years, but I'm not a professional. I use Wright's Silver Polish in paste form. It takes a lot of work, but I think it is much gentler than some of the quick cleaning chemicals. It's also an old standard that has been around for a long time.
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My sneaky little non-silver-PC tip is that I use a double application of "Rain-X" (the stuff for automotive windshields) after polishing non-food use (or 'display only' items) silver .
A quick wash with a sponge , very mild detergent & warm water gets the surface stuff off & keeps the rain-x coating intact .
I recoat (Rain-X) such items about every 2-3 years .
Golda Meir used to obsessively polish her tea pot ... some say it was theraputic for her ; nobody but her knows for sure .
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Silver always looks & sells better at fairs when clean
The value of silver is in its weight , but more importently its HALLMARKS. A good makers mark can put £,s on the price of an object a worn unreadable one can take the value down to scrap.
To maintain the value always cover the hallmarks with a small piece of tape when cleaning, this stops them from becoming rubbed & illegible
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Great advice everyone Thanks! :)
Peace
Lee
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I can honestly say I have never in my life heard of using Rainx for silver. Where in the world did you come up with this?
I know they coat brass so that it doesn't change as fast....
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Just through experimentation did I find out that it works , KC .
I found that it was the most transparent & least harsh of all the other products & methods that were attempted by me .
It's a very economical means of treatment too , which always gets my attention !
See what happens when I listen to the voices of my invisable friends ?!?
:D :D :D :D ::) ::) ::) ::) :D :D :D :D
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Very resourceful Fancypants.
Thinking it over I see this as a bright idea and even better that you would try it out and think in terms of being economical as well as functional.
I'm impressed but am sure corporate America doesn't want this kind of individual thinking going on so they can lead us around like sheep and bleed us white selling us overpriced common products that are in reality nothing special but creating illusions they have a team of white robed scientist working on all these secret complex formulas.
Our country needs more thinkers and people who can be self sufficient.JMO
Way to be a leader and not a follower Fancypants.I salute you.
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Nice of you to say so , Dean !
Salute right back @ ya' !
(I'm AKA 'fancypants')
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I should of guess it. :o
Nobody knows the value of a dollar like Regularjoe2.
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Is that birdies singin' , or did someone say "cheap" ?
;D ;D ;D
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I read that "back in the day" people used to use the ashes from their hearth mixed with water to clean the silver. Has anyone tried it? I was thinking I might give it a shot on a non-special piece.
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Ashes from ciggies works best , just keep them wet when polishing .
Old guys (cheap ones) used to polish silver in their shops with cigar ashes & spit &/or/with coffee .
An old man in a coin shop in San Diego showed me this 'trick' when I was a kid .
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Is that birdies singin' , or did someone say "cheap" ?
;D ;D ;D
Man, you crack me up Regularjoe2 AKA Fancypants.
TOTSS-Sounds like it's worth a try and thanks for keeping old world knowledge alive by mentioning this.
It's like we advance and get new technology then forget about the old.
I realise this when I have to remember a commonly called phone number and without a phone for a brain I draw a blank.Remember when we would know all our Friends numbers by memory.Now that part of my brain is dead.lol
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I know what you mean Dean! Have you sat down and tried to write a letter by hand?!!! Even reading cursive writing, especially older writing from earlier generations, is becoming more difficult because we don't do it regularly!
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I think that's where the saying "use it or lose it" comes into play. Working with one of our younger (21) clerks last week, I watched in
awe as she added two receipts together. The first one was for $27.......she had to count on her fingers to add the second one to it......
it was for $10 !! ::) ???
I swear, the more buttons and keys we push, the more brain cells we freeze! :P
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You should repackage this and label it "FancyPants Tarnish Inhibitor".
I am going to try it!
I like your kind of thinking. We hate to clean silver (the smell) but there is nothing like the shine on it!
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LOL and it can sit on the shelf in the hardware store next to the Awesome Possum Grease!!
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Awesome Possum Snot and FancyPants SilverAsh Wipe...now there's a marketing duo just waiting to happen! :D
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ROFLM Ash Off!!!
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Fancyashwipe .... I likeeey , waywardangler .
Maybe it could be used for ....ummm .... rain-proofing hip-waders ? ;D