Cleaning Silver

Just came across this excellent article:

http://www.darylscience.com/Demos/Silver.html

Tried in on my Mothers 40 year old heavily tarnished silver and it looks new.

Really not much to it so I'll post it.

• Get a container big enough to set the item in, Pyrex glass baking dish for example would work fine for silverware.
  
• Line the container with Aluminum foil.
  
• About four quarts of water and a teaspoon of salt.
  
• Bring that to a boil and take it off the heat.
  
• Add about a cup of Baking soda to the water.
  
• Pour water into container.
  
• Drink beer and watch tarnish disappear.

Bonus: When wife comes home tell her you were laboring all day to polish silver.

Not sure if there is nay specific quantities you should use as the article doesn't list them.

I remember seeing this done on 3-2-1 Contact on PBS back in the day...

For some reason it never worked for me (30 yrs ago .. ), but I know it does work. My father has done it with coins found while using a metal detector. 1800's coins will look brand spankin' new after 100+ yrs in the ground.

I don't recall the drink beer part, but I'm particularly fond of that step!

I still remember my Grandmother dipping her silverware in "Hot water" when I was 4 or 5 years old. It was amazing! Like a magic act for a kid! Must be the same ingredients/formula.

I don't know if it s the same Chris, the article says the Silver has to be touching the aluminum foil or the reaction won't work.

Richard S. wrote:I don't know if it s the same Chris, the article says the Silver has to be touching the aluminum foil or the reaction won't work.

so you cant have two pieces of silverware laying one on top of the other? all laying completely flat not touching one another?

I was doing large items and none of them were touching each other by themselves so I don't know. I was taking the items out after about 2 or 3 minute and putting new ones in. It does leave like film on it but it's easily wiped off.

If you find some coins that have been hidden away for years and years (not buried in dirt)
dont clean them. Dont polish them. Dont buff them .
You first have the coin looked at by someone who knows about them.
By making it all nice and clean you remove the natural "luster"and other things a collector looks for....And 90% of the value on what just may have been the "find of the century"

Funny you should mention that, was watching that antique show on PBS recently and they had something they had refurbished and it was worth thousands less because of it.

Never clean or try to fix anything old that you may think is valuable. Have it appraised first and get an expert opinion. Most antiques and collectables are worth more the way they are.

My dad had a tv repair shop back in the 60's. If you can remember, the tuners used to get staticy or scratchy. He had a gallon or 2 of this liquid, used to dip the tuners into, would clean the silver contacts. I have a gallon of it here somewhere. I put a silver dime in it and it cleans if fairly fast, few minutes. It's not real strong. It has a soapy feel to it and is brown in color. Don't know what it is, maybe a type of lye?

Not a hard and fast rule, but generally if you rub your fingers together after wetting them and it feels slippery, it is probably caustic. If you feel friction, it is probably acidic. Try a phosphate soap and vinegar to compare.