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DIY: Silver Polishing

Due to a process called oxidization, the surface of anything made out of silver turns black over time, when exposed to the air. To look their best, pieces of silver need an occasional polish to remove this sooty black layer. While you can purchase bottles of ready-made silver polish from most home supply stores, this isn't really necessary, as there are several effective DIY methods you can try. If there is a smoker in the family, then rubbing silver in cigarette ash is an effective old remedy. Also, ordinary toothpaste does very well.

Things You'll Need

Toothpaste
Kitchen roll
Cotton-wool bud

Instructions

- 1
  Press gently with your thumb against the silver to see how robust it is. If it feels reassuringly solid, then apply a dab of toothpaste to a piece of kitchen roll and rub it into one of the sooty areas. The black stuff should come off very easily. Repeat, replenishing the supply of toothpaste, until the item is sparkling.
- 2
  Use a cotton-wool bud, instead of kitchen roll on delicate pieces of silver, such as jewelry, rotating the end of the bud in any little crevices. It's also best to use cotton-wool buds on pieces of silver that were either made from a very thin gauge to begin with, or which have grown thin from previous polishings.
- 3
  Rinse pieces of silver under a running faucet to remove any stickiness, and the minty odor that might otherwise linger: Then dab them dry with a clean piece of kitchen roll. If, however, the item is applied with paste stones or ceramic inserts - as on some Art Nouveau pieces -- then sponge it carefully with a damp piece of kitchen roll or cotton-wool bud instead. The reason being, the water might cause damage, if it seeps under the decoration.

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