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Thread: Sterling Silver

  1. #21
    Member Bob's Avatar
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    Default Re: Sterling Silver

    My thoughts on this are, if you don’t scratch anything then wipe away.
    A silver polishing cloth is much better than microfiber cloth.
    Allan


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  2. #22
    Senior Member calamus's Avatar
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    Default Re: Sterling Silver

    I was a silversmith for about 30 years. The cloths that jewelers use for polishing are generically called rouge cloths. Typically they consist of two pieces of fabric sewn together: an inner piece, usually white, that is impregnated with polishing compound, and an outer one, often blue but often another color. You rub the white cloth on the silver to remove tarnish, then you wipe off any residual compound with the outer, usually blue cloth. The sunshine cloths are easier to find if you don't frequent jeweler supply places, but they don't have the soft outer cloth that removes any residual compound and gives it a final light buff.





    I'd recommend Rio Grande Jewelry Supply as a good place to pick up a rouge cloth: https://www.riogrande.com/product/bu...g-cloth/337040

    Microfiber doesn't work very well on silver except to remove a bit of dirt, in my experience.
    Last edited by calamus; December 30th, 2019 at 06:31 PM.
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  3. The Following 5 Users Say Thank You to calamus For This Useful Post:

    FredRydr (December 30th, 2019), jar (December 31st, 2019), penwash (December 30th, 2019), SchaumburgSwan (December 30th, 2019), sjssf (December 31st, 2019)

  4. #23
    Senior Member Paddler's Avatar
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    Default Re: Sterling Silver

    Don't ignore the fact that silver is a soft metal. Wear points will eventually fail. I'm thinking levers here. A vermeil filling lever will eventually wear out at the hinge and fold up.

    Water, salt, soda, and aluminum foil will remove silver tarnish without all the rubbing with polishing cloths. You don't have to immerse the pen. We use this on our flatware before the family swarms for a feed and lying fest in December. A year's worth of tarnish is gone in seconds.
    "Nothing is enough for the man to whom enough is too little." -Epicurus-

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    Chrissy (December 31st, 2019)

  6. #24
    Senior Member FredRydr's Avatar
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    Default Re: Sterling Silver

    Quote Originally Posted by Paddler View Post
    ...Water, salt, soda, and aluminum foil will remove silver tarnish without all the rubbing with polishing cloths. You don't have to immerse the pen. We use this on our flatware before the family swarms for a feed and lying fest in December. A year's worth of tarnish is gone in seconds.
    The tarnish isn't removed, but changed to a dull white. Search "Tarn-X" on your search engine.

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    sjssf (December 31st, 2019)

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    Senior Member pengeezer's Avatar
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    Default Re: Sterling Silver

    For those of us on the American side of the pond,silver polishing cloths can be found in your local Wal-Mart or Target. If those aren't possible,look in the jewellery section of your department store.

    John

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    Senior Member pengeezer's Avatar
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    Default Re: Sterling Silver

    ....that's the jewellery dept. @Wal-Mart or Target.

    John

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    Default Re: Sterling Silver

    Thanks for offering the link for the jewelers cloth; I just ordered some & will thank you when I receive & use them!

  11. #28
    Member sjssf's Avatar
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    Default Re: Sterling Silver

    Quote Originally Posted by FredRydr View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by Paddler View Post
    ...Water, salt, soda, and aluminum foil will remove silver tarnish without all the rubbing with polishing cloths. You don't have to immerse the pen. We use this on our flatware before the family swarms for a feed and lying fest in December. A year's worth of tarnish is gone in seconds.
    The tarnish isn't removed, but changed to a dull white. Search "Tarn-X" on your search engine.
    Thanks for this. I've always wondered about it. I bought a sterling tea strainer that was jet black and my normal Wright's Cream treatment seemed to make no difference. I did the aluminum trick and it worked pretty well but the silver was just ugly. I've since been polishing with Wright's and it's coming back to life. Now I know why. I find Tarn-X the same. The tarnish seems to go but so does the look of good sterling. It's Wrights, silver cloths and a little elbow grease from now on.

    And it probably wouldn't be a good idea to soak a fountain pen in that aluminum/baking soda water.

  12. #29
    Senior Member calamus's Avatar
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    Default Re: Sterling Silver

    I can't imagine that crumpled aluminum foil would be softer than a rouge cloth, or produce less wear.

    Re Wright's: be careful not to use it on any part of the pen that might allow some of the cream to get into the works of the pen.
    Quid rides? Mutato nomine de te fabula narratur. — Horace
    (What are you laughing at? Just change the name and the joke’s on you.)

  13. #30
    Senior Member Ron Z's Avatar
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    Default Re: Sterling Silver

    I ran across an article discussing using the salt/aliminum etc method of removing tarnish. Close up/microscope pictures showed that the chemicals caused permanent damage to the silver, creating fine pits in the surface. A Sunshine cloth or jewelers cloth, or a small amount of a good polish is much safer. If you use something like Flitz/Simicrome/Wenol, (which are the only ones I would use) make sure that all of the polish is removed. Use a soft toothbrush if needed to remove the compound from nooks and crannies. I have seen cases where residual polish left for an extended time cause corrosion of parts that weren't silver.

    BTW, you can continue to use a Sunshine cloth after it turns black. I finish with a microfiber cloth or old T-shirt. Just don't ever wash them. No chemicals in a Sunshine cloth - simply a micro-crystal abrasive with "luster enhancers," i.e. some sort of fats. They're my first choice for polishing, using Wenol only on heavily tarnished pens, never on nibs.

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    jar (January 2nd, 2020)

  15. #31
    FPG Donor ♕ Chrissy's Avatar
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    Default Re: Sterling Silver

    Quote Originally Posted by Ron Z View Post
    I ran across an article discussing using the salt/aliminum etc method of removing tarnish. Close up/microscope pictures showed that the chemicals caused permanent damage to the silver, creating fine pits in the surface. A Sunshine cloth or jewelers cloth, or a small amount of a good polish is much safer. If you use something like Flitz/Simicrome/Wenol, (which are the only ones I would use) make sure that all of the polish is removed. Use a soft toothbrush if needed to remove the compound from nooks and crannies. I have seen cases where residual polish left for an extended time cause corrosion of parts that weren't silver.

    BTW, you can continue to use a Sunshine cloth after it turns black. I finish with a microfiber cloth or old T-shirt. Just don't ever wash them. No chemicals in a Sunshine cloth - simply a micro-crystal abrasive with "luster enhancers," i.e. some sort of fats. They're my first choice for polishing, using Wenol only on heavily tarnished pens, never on nibs.
    Following your recommendation, Sunshine Cloths were among the first items I bought while I was in the US, and I use one regularly for polishing all pens, not just silver or metal ones.
    Regards, Chrissy | My Review Blog: inkyfountainpens

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