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Post by susancinpa on May 29, 2018 20:18:25 GMT
I am a yellow gold fan through & through, but have some silver pieces since some clothing pieces look better with silver. How do you keep your silver looking nice? I pulled out a sterling silver & multi-gemstone bracelet this weekend and the silver is so tarnished that it is almost completely black. I also have several other bracelets and they are so hard to polish. I do have some little squares that are supposed to help reduce the tarnishing, but they aren't working all that great. I've seen ads for liquids that you dip your jewelry into, but I'm quite skeptical and I'm concerned about the few pieces I have that have semi-precious gemstones, turquoise & other similar stones.
Necklaces are usually a little easier as they don't have as many nooks/crannies like the links of a bracelet. I can usually use a polishing cloth to remove most of the discoloration, but have a couple stubborn pieces.
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Post by bothmykidsrbrats on May 29, 2018 20:21:12 GMT
I use a tooth brush and tooth paste with baking soda.
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smartypants71
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,992 
Location: Houston, TX
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Post by smartypants71 on May 29, 2018 20:38:06 GMT
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craftykitten
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,304
Jun 26, 2014 7:39:32 GMT
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Post by craftykitten on May 29, 2018 20:43:30 GMT
I use a polishing cloth and wrap it around something like a cocktail stick to get in the smallest parts.
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Post by KelleeM on May 29, 2018 20:43:41 GMT
I bought a tub of liquid silver cleaner with a little basket that you dunk in. I had a necklace that looked horrible and I dipped it, rinsed it and dried it...it looked brand new! Silver cleaner |
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Aug 18, 2025 21:16:28 GMT
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Post by Deleted on May 29, 2018 21:19:17 GMT
I use Wright's Silver Polish. You can also try the aluminum foil and baking soda trick, but heavily tarnished items may still need polishing: www.everbritecoatings.com/silver_clean.htm(I don't wrap in foil. I just place the foil at the bottom of the dish and the items on top of the foil.) |
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Post by dewryce on May 29, 2018 21:21:15 GMT
Once you get the tarnish off you can slow down the process by keeping some strips made specifically for that purpose stored with them, I'll see if I can find a link for them. eta: Here is an Amazon link for one of them. There are also special bags, boxes and other storage pieces that will inhibit tarnish from forming as quickly. I use the James Avery cloth as well. And I love that they'like clean your jewelry for you. Just a piece or two while you wait or you can drop off 5 things at once. I do this with items that are harder for me to polish. |
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Post by revirdsuba99 on May 29, 2018 21:21:30 GMT
Once they are polished wrap pieces in a tarnish protecting cloths....
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wasil
Full Member
Posts: 355
Location: Iowa
Aug 3, 2014 12:59:34 GMT
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Post by wasil on May 29, 2018 21:34:03 GMT
I have a few necklaces that I hang on a hook next to my bedroom mirror. They are horribly tarnished and I’d like an easy way to polish them. I use a treated polishing cloth that is supposed to remove the tarnish but it requires a lot of scrubbing and pulling and I don’t think that’s very good for the chain.
I have several silver bracelets that I polished last summer and then put them in a ziplock bag. I squeezed the air out of the bag before closing it and they still have very little tarnish on them.
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Post by Eddie-n-Harley on May 30, 2018 3:20:10 GMT
Take a glass baking dish. Line it with aluminum foil. Sprinkle baking soda on the foil. Place your silver pieces in the baking soda on the foil; be sure the silver is touching the foil. Add BOILING water to cover the pieces. You will start to smell sulfur.
I usually wait until the water cools enough for me to put my hands in, and then I remove each piece, give it a rinse under the faucet, dry it gently, then polish with a cloth because sometimes you get a slight film. (I use a "sunshine polishing cloth." I get them from etsy. They're yellow.) After I polish, I rinse and dry again.
For a heavily tarnished or intricate piece, you may need to repeat the process. Start with clean foil and new baking soda. If possible, I try to change the orientation of the piece so a different side is touching the foil.
I am the most successful with this process, even for the intricate pieces, and I have done the toothpaste method and used silver jewelry "cleaners."
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Post by peace on May 30, 2018 11:32:38 GMT
I sell silver- everything mentioned is good. Some pieces the liquid, some the polish and some the cloth. It depends on the piece the the details of it. But once polished, keep it in a sealed plastic bag with anti-tarnish paper. I really do recommend having cloth for the quick fix.
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schizo319
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,030
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Post by schizo319 on May 30, 2018 11:55:26 GMT
I've never had any luck with the tinfoil and baking soda trick, I'm going to have to try it again soon - it seems to work for so many people, I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong (I suspect maybe the water isn't hot enough or I didn't use enough baking soda).
Once polished, keep a couple of silica gel packs in a baggie with your jewelry. Tarnish comes from moisture in the air and those packets are made to absorb moisture. DH works retail, so he puts a few packets aside for me when they unload the boxes at work, but you can save the ones that come in handbags or whatever. I've also used a charcoal briquette wrapped in a paper towel to slow down tarnishing on my grandmother's silverware.
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Post by susancinpa on May 30, 2018 12:15:57 GMT
Thanks everyond! I'll have to try several of these methods to see what works best. I can see that some may work better for certain pieces.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Aug 18, 2025 21:16:28 GMT
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Post by Deleted on May 30, 2018 13:15:05 GMT
Thank you for this thread! I have several pieces of silver that need cleaning. I also have my grandmother's silver flatware that needs polishing before it is too late.
Sometime this summer, I'll get all this done & store it all properly.
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Post by birukitty on Jun 3, 2018 1:43:53 GMT
I wanted to answer this question on the say it was posted but had a migraine and my silver cleaner was 2 flight up in the bathroom. Just getting back to this post now.
Anyway, the silver cleaner I use I ordered from Amazon and it's called Connoisseurs. The plastic jar I ordered a couple of years ago was red, but the one they have on Prime now is gray. I read and followed the instructions carefully (learned this the hard one one time in the past) and tried it on a necklace that had been in my jewelry cabinet for years. It had darkened so much. I was shocked, literally, by how shiny and bright it came out when cleaned. It only takes a few seconds. Happily I did all of my sterling silver necklaces and pendants that night.
It's only $8.65. Although on the ad it says it cleans pearls and stones I wouldn't trust it for that. I only clean silver in it. It's very strong and I think the instructions on the jar say differently. Comes with a drainer basket.
For gold, precious stones, and platinum I have used for years a product called "Hagerty 7 oz. Jewelry Cleaner White" on Amazon. It won't work on silver but it works great on what I've mentioned. It is $7.78, comes in a plastic tub with a drainer basket and a tiny brush. Instead of using the brush I use an old toothbrush to clean the nooks and crannies of the stones in my ring. Again watch the instructions. I once left a gold chain in too long thinking longer is better and it came out black-ruined it.
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