Running low on forks, I cruised the local flea market for some cheap flatware, and found the cheapest was a set of what seemed to be silver that someone was virtually giving away (10$ for a complete service for 20 people). It seemed tarnished, so I bought some silver polish.
I’m chronically lazy so the polish has remained in the bottle, while the silverware has gone into the diswasher several times. It’s clean enough (there are a few black spots here and there, but that’s purely an aesthetic thing, far as I can tell.)
Is there any reason for me to get off my duff or can I use the polish whenever I get around to it? (I.e., never.)
No. Old silver looks old. Even if you polish it, tarnish may remain in the grooves, and there will be little marked spots, etc–and it will have a patina of fine scratches, rather than being absolutely shiny and brand-new. Shiny and brand-new silver screams “nouveau riche.” Let the silver stay tarnished for as long as you want, and tell people you inherited it from your great-aunt Edith, and that it has been in the family since you all came over from England in 1745.
The tarnish isn’t hurting anything. Be careful to rinse the pieces well before putting them in the dishwasher, because excessive salt exposure can cause pitting, which is terrible. Don’t put dishwasher detergent in until absolutely the last minute, either–more pitting if granules sit on it.
Of course there is the lazy person’s way to polish silver: put it in a pan of water, add a spoonful each of salt and baking soda and a piece of aluminium foil, and let it sit for a while. You might not want to use this method for antique silver, but it does work, and it’s cheaper and greener than silver polish.
I work in a museum, and one of my duties is the polisihing of metals.
Tarnish will eventually damage the surface of the metal. I’ve seen examples where there are actually pockmarks in the metal after I’ve finished cleaning it. I’ve also seen fingerprints which eat their way into the metal, leaving an indelible mark. However, this is silver which may have been tarnished for over a hundred years.
What we use is a product called Nevr-Dull. (You can find it in hardware stores and automotive shops. It’s in a small dark blue can.) It’s a cotton wadding soaked in a tarnish-cutting oil. It works like a dream. I will caution you to wear gloves, though, because the black gunk which comes off is a bitch to get out from under your fingernails. Nevr-Dull does not scratch the way that paste polishes do, and does not leave chalky residue in crevices.
If you don’t intend to eat off of the silver, you can use a product called Renaissance Wax to keep it from re-tarnishing. Just use a tiny bit, and buff it off well. Afterwards, don’t touch the silver with your bare hands.
If you do intend to use it, hand-wash it very well after each use, and make sure each piece is thoughoughly dried before storing it, ideally, wrapping each piece individually in cloth. Otherwise, just keep it in a dry area where the humidity remains fairly constant, such as a closet in the interior of the house.
Annie-Xmas has described a classic method of cleaning silver. Just a couple of clarifications: -
The method works by electrolytic reduction of the silver sulphide tarnish. You can use an aluminium pan and no foil, or glassware and aluminium foil. Whichever method you use, the silver should be in contact with the aluminium (no problem in an aluminium pan) and submerged in the bicarbonate solution.
(The method may work in a stainless pan with aluminium foil, but the stainless steel acts as an unwanted third electrode and may interfere.) Lissa, that’s interesting! The tarnish itself shouldn’t attack the silver - once formed, silver sulphide should be reasonably inert. What it will do though is allow a surface moisture film to form in the tarnished areas at less than 100% humidity, i.e. the tarnished areas will effectively be “wet” a lot of the time. That might explain the progressive metal loss from tarnished areas.
I could be wrong of course. The acidic peat bogs of Scotland should theoretically be hellishly corrosive to iron and steel, but a lot of the 50+ year old iron pipework of the hydro schemes here is as good as new. Museum literature informed me that iron age artifacts seem to be preserved by some peat bogs, and iron meteorites as well. The mechanism is a mystery.
Which is surprisingly common. A lot of people can’t tell silver from stainless steel-- and I’m not joking. We’ve had many donations of “junk found after Grandma died” which were really very valuable items.