Sterling & Silver Plate Polishing & Cleaning Tips
Feinberg English Silver - 1-800-346-3438 - FeinbergEnglishSilver@gmail.com
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Keeping Your Silver Perfect: How to Polish Your Silver
At Feinberg English Silver we have been in the silver business
(sterling silver, fine quality silver plate and genuine antique English silver)
for over 75 years and are experts in our field. The pleasure of owning fine silver
requires some work to keep your silver in pristine condition. While
silver scratches and can develop a “patina” with age, this adds to the
beauty of the piece. We keep our showroom silver and silver antiques
in pristine condition with a minimum of effort. Using the following
tips, your Feinberg English Silver will look great and last
generations. Here are our tips:
Tarnish is the Enemy: Feinberg English Silver comes from the finest English silversmiths and also, to a less er degree, from the best Italian silver craftsmen. All English silver, sterling silver or silver plate, can tarnish as these silver pieces are not treated with a “lacquer” or finish. Tarnish is an oxidation process that can turn shiny silver dull and leave a dark film. Italian silver is often treated with a finish (lacquer) to prevent tarnish. Any silver that is finished with a lacquer, should not tarnish but we still suggest regular polishing with a treated cloth boss (see below). However, any product that is used for food service cannot be treated and, therefore can tarnish.
Tarnish is the Enemy: Feinberg English Silver comes from the finest English silversmiths and also, to a less er degree, from the best Italian silver craftsmen. All English silver, sterling silver or silver plate, can tarnish as these silver pieces are not treated with a “lacquer” or finish. Tarnish is an oxidation process that can turn shiny silver dull and leave a dark film. Italian silver is often treated with a finish (lacquer) to prevent tarnish. Any silver that is finished with a lacquer, should not tarnish but we still suggest regular polishing with a treated cloth boss (see below). However, any product that is used for food service cannot be treated and, therefore can tarnish.
How To Prevent Tarnish:
At Feinberg English Silver, our first defense
is a regular wiping of the silver with an inexpensive treated cloth,
available at virtually any hardware store. We use
“Blitz,” an excellent silver cleaning cloth/glove. If
you polish your
silver this way every 6-8 weeks, the wiping creates friction that
removes the tarnish and creates the shine.
A Typical "Blitz" Polishing Mitts Box (taken from www.blitzinc.net)
Importantly, if you are polishing silver plate, you want to avoid using
an abrasive silver polish or chemical solution. This wears down the
silver plate coating and can penetrate the base metal. Feinberg silver
plate is very a high quality silver plate and is plated to 10+ microns
(a commercial level) while much of the less expensive silver plate
(from India and Asia) has a very thin silver plate coating and will
quickly wear away.
If you wash your silver (flatware and serving pieces) with any regularity, this will virtually eliminate tarnish. Hand washing is strongly recommended.
Removing Tarnish: However, there are situations when tarnish appears and when a silver glove/cloth cannot do the job. As noted previously, be careful as silver polish is an abrasive that will wear away silver plate (but it will not wear away sterling silver).
Here are our suggestions:
If you wash your silver (flatware and serving pieces) with any regularity, this will virtually eliminate tarnish. Hand washing is strongly recommended.
Removing Tarnish: However, there are situations when tarnish appears and when a silver glove/cloth cannot do the job. As noted previously, be careful as silver polish is an abrasive that will wear away silver plate (but it will not wear away sterling silver).
Here are our suggestions:
1. For small tarnish spots, white toothpaste is very effective. Just rub some on the spot and clean.
2. We recommend Blitz Silver Care Polish for tougher jobs or large pieces. Blitz is available in most hardware stores and is not as abrasive as many of the chemical dips yet is very effective.
2. We recommend Blitz Silver Care Polish for tougher jobs or large pieces. Blitz is available in most hardware stores and is not as abrasive as many of the chemical dips yet is very effective.
Fine silver can be repaired and silver plate can be replated to look
like new. If you have questions about your sterling silver and silver
plate, please feel free to contact us.