What is the best polishing method for silver and copper?

Question

I am looking for the easiest way to shine my silver. Also a way to keep it from tarnishing longer. Thank you for you advice.

Answer 1

There are great products in the market for silver and copper.
Personally i prefer the old soda bicarb and lemon juice method, because it shines silver without removing the patina.

Same for copper.

Humidity is what tarnishes your silver and copper. So keep both well sealed in ziplocks when not in use.

Answer 2

I use ashes. Just regular ashes from an ashtray. If it is something small like jewelry, put it in the ashtray and gently roll it around. If it is bigger, use a soft cloth and gently rub the ashes over it. Then rinse and dry completely. I thought my friend was nuts when he told me this but my jewelry has never been so shiny. Commercial products like Tarn-X, seem to make my silver tarnish quicker, I don't know why. As for copper, I use Mr. Metal, which works on all metals pretty well. There must be a million home remedies for polishing silver, I guess that's why the servants were continually working at it in the old days. The best way to make anything shine will always be good old 'elbow grease'!

Answer 3

Best Copper Polish

Answer 4

There are commercial cleaners available . Make a silver polishing cloth as follows:Impregnate a flannel cloth with a solution of 1 tablespoon silverplate powder. 2 tablespoons cloudy ammonia and 4 cups of boiling water. Soak the cloth for 15minutes and let dry. Use after silver has been cleaned to keep it bright and shiny.( I have tried bi carbonate of soda powder on a damp cloth to clean slightly tarnished silver. OK.) Make sure all commercial cleaner has been washed off silver items or tarnish will begin quicker.. Items can be lacquered to alleviate polishing. Check at the jeweller for this service..
For cleaning copper, use a commercial cleaner, (you could try bi carbonate of soda on a damp cloth, I haven't tried it on copper ) but make sure items are washed and dried thoroughly. Or rub with a piece of lemon dipped in vinegar and salt, wash and rinse.
Hope this helps you?

Answer 5

put a piece of heavy aluminum foil in a plastic container. fill it with warm water, add some baking soda to the water. Use a battery charger, connect one lead to the foil, and have the other in the water. dip the silver or whatever in the solution and wait until it looks good.

There is also a comercial version of this available.

As for keeping it looking good, you have to keep the air away from it by some means. if not actually used for food, you can coat it with a clear urethane or something of that sort. for use with food, a coating of cooking oil will help. do not use actual polish on them, as what you are doing is removing the actual silver. the chemical process simply reverses the oxidation. if not used alot, storing the polished silver in those vacuum pack things will keep it from tarnishing.

Answer 6

Well I use a natural stone cleaner cream It clean´s Gold ,Silver ,Bronze, Copper,Brass, Stainless Steel all most all metals .Gets rid of Limescale , cut´s through Grim & Dirt , there so many other thing´s it can clean it even cleans windows , I have told so many people here about this product , It save´s on buying so many other product´s for cleaning your house ,this is the web site which will show you the product I use www.promonov.com You might find something similar in your local hardware shop or one of the bigger stores . but it really works

Answer 7

A woman who works in an accessories shop (once told me that she) uses a face compact powder (Fanbo brand) and rub it gently with cloth the kind for cleaning eyeglasses. It actually works beautifully.

Answer 8

I use lipstick on this medals..don't use the good expensive brands but lipstick is also good for jewelry and if its tarnished/dirty use a little toothpaste on a damp cloth with some vodka added..five to one mixture..good luck

Answer 9

There are huge number of solutions available in the world that help in polishing silver and copper wares. The best methods that can be followed for home appliances are given below:

method 1 : Polishing with acetone, preferably by immersion. Acetone is a volatile solvent that should never be used in poorly ventilated conditions.

method 2 : Polishing with fine calcium carbonate, CHALK (“whiting”), worked into a slurry or runny paste with equal amounts of ethanol (denatured alcohol or ethyl alcohol) and distilled water. The paste is rubbed across the surface working a small area at a time with cotton balls or clean, cotton rags. Detailed areas may be polished with Q-tips or with cotton wadding on the end of a sharpened bamboo skewer. Depending on the design of your object, it may not be desirable to OVER-CLEAN every crevice, as this decreases the overall contrast of the detailing. It is important to remove all residual polish with distilled water. Drying may be accelerated by adding ethanol to the rinse water, or by giving the object a final wipe with ethanol.

method 3 : Polishing with Autosol when the oxidation layers are too thick. "Autosol" is an general purpose polishing agent. The degree of polish is as you wish to achieve on a small inconspicuous part of the object. Buff on the polish with a clean rag. The surface must be rinsed with mineral spirits after polishing to remove any polish residues. This polish can be recommended because it contains less ammonia than most other commercial brands. Ammonia can cause long term damage to valuable copper alloy objects.

Method 4 : This method is famously known as "Baking soda method" used in daily chores.Just wet the uttensil and dip it in some baking soda and clean it with an old toothbrush. This will take the tarnish off, and make your uttensil shiny without scratching it.

Note for method 4 : This is a very easy to do cleaning method. However, it doesn't work on everything, and it is mostly used to clean old silver coins that you find in the ground.

Method 5 : Fill a small jar with ammonia, add your gold or silver items, put on the lid and let sit for awhile. Open it up later and polish each piece with a soft cloth. This works best for gold.you need to use the baking soda and a toothbrush also to get all the black off.

Method 6 : Try a piece of lemon dipped in salt, or hot vinegar and salt, to remove corrosion from copper. This is an old-fashioned method but one that I find useful when dealing with articles that are difficult to clean. Provided they are not decorated with materials that hot water will damage, they can also be boiled in water containing salt and vinegar. Most of the corrosion will be loosened or removed.

Method 7 : Copper can be given a deep-brown or bronze color by repeated wipings, after thorough cleaning, with boiled linseed oil.

Method 8 : clean sliver and copper vessels using a Lortone dual tumbler using aquarium gravel and a solution of water, cream of tartar, Dawn dish soap and SnoBol.

Method 8 : Mix 1 tablespoon of salt and 2cups of warm water in a
bowl. Take a 12-volt battery charger or 12-volt battery and attach the negative lead to your coin and set the coin in the salt water. Hook your positive lead to a stainless steel spoon and set the spoon in the water making sure the positive does not touch the negative. Turn the charger on for 5 or 6 minutes. Turn power off, remove coin and clean with a toothbrush.

Method 9 : In a non-aluminum pan, add a piece of aluminum foil, water and baking soda. Bring the water to a boil and place the item in the water. You only need to boil for a minute or so. The water foams as it removes the tarnish. If the water stops foaming and there is still tarnish, add more baking soda or a fresh water/soda combo.

Method 10 : To remove green carbonate compound that has collected on copper, wash and rinse items in several changes of soapsuds and clean water. Follow with an application of all-metal cleaner. Acidic foods cause copper to tarnish. Always wash copper cookware in hot, soapy water immediately after cooking.

Method 11 : Since the outer layer of a silver-plated item is soft and thin, don't rub harshly when cleaning. Wash and/or rinse all silver plate promptly after use to prevent tarnish, staining or pitting caused by food soils. Don't wash silver or silver plate in the dishwasher. Wash by hand in sudsy water, rinse in clear hot water and dry thoroughly. To prevent water spotting, dry items with a lint-free towel, cotton cloth or cotton sock.

Notes : Store polished items in drawers or containers lined with flannel treated with anti-tarnish protection. Do not wrap silver in felt or chamois leather. Both are sources of hydrogen sulfide, a strong tarnish inducer. Never wrap plated silver in newspaper. Printers ink will act in time to remove the plating. Never secure any wrapping with rubber bands. Rubber, a deadly enemy of silver, can corrode it in a few weeks through several layers of paper or flannel. Best not to have rubber in same drawer or container.

(a) for silver : Silver, like gold, is chemically inactive. Which means it doesn't oxidize when exposed to air, but its surface tarnishes from exposure to certain gases in the air. Black silver sulfide forms when the metal has even the slightest exposure to any sulfur compounds found in the air or water or sulfur dyes often found in cloth or paper.silver when over-exposer to the following compounds can tarnish silver : pollution, perspiration, table salt, eggs, olives, salad dressings, peas, gas, sulfur, vinegar, fruit juices, perfumes, toilet water, Sea air and leaking gas.

(b) for copper : Copper is a red metal that tarnishes from sulfur impurities in the air. If moisture is compounded with the air, oxidation is rapid, leaving a dark, dulling film on copper surfaces. Copper is protected from continuous and penetrating corrosion by the formation of a green patina or film, called verdigris, which is composed of copper carbonate. While this patina can be a desirable look in certain outdoor applications, it can cause nausea and vomiting if eaten. Routine cleaning will restore copper's brightness and prevent corrosion from developing.