Friday, January 14, 2011

Polishing Silver - So Much Fun!

I hope y'all know I'm kidding!  I have some sterling silver and silverplated items that I received as wedding gifts and from my mother, but I have an aversion to buying silver pieces because I don't like to polish it. Awhile back I even passed up two very nice silver platters(they were probably silver plate) at the Goodwill that were only a few dollars a piece. Of course I'm still kicking myself over that one, but oh well!
Back to polishing...I can't remember the last time I polished my silver but when I brought out the flatware, I noticed a few tarnished spots , so I polished every single piece! Yay!

So why stop there? I did a  winter tablescape with silver and crystal a few days ago and had to polish a few of the items.


I had a few more silver pieces I could have put on the table, but I was tired of polishing! So, today I went down to the basement and brought these up:

I was afraid to open the box because they had been down in the basement, unopened since we moved into our house 11 years ago. I envisioned them being all black. Thank goodness they weren't. They had been wrapped well  and two anti tarnish silver strips  were in each wrapped silver piece.


They still needed some polishing, though. Polishing silver isn't that difficult. You just wipe on some cream...

and buff off the tarnish...ewwwwww

After wiping the piece off, I rinse and then wipe it all off again.

You can barely see the tarnish on the handle, but it needed to come off. To get into the crevices of the handle, I poured some cream on it and used a toothbrush. 



I store my flatware in these tarnish resistant flatware rolls.



I keep my larger pieces in silver keeper bags that help prevent tarnish. I think I will add an anti tarnish strip to the bag.

This is one of my favorite little pieces. I just keep it wrapped up in the box it came in, inside a drawer. It didn't have any tarnish on it at all and I haven't polished it - that I can remember-- in 24 years. I did polish it today, though, just in case. I serve Buckeyes in it at Christmas.

This was the silver polish I used- I picked up at Target. It worked pretty well and didn't have an awful odor like some polishes I've used in the past.
I would love to know how you care for your silver and how you store it or if you just skip having silver pieces altogether!

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Pam

14 comments:

  1. Pam, that is too funny. I was thinking about doing a post on a very easy silver polish product I discovered and it smells good! Carbona wipes. You get 20 wipes and they foam up when you start using them. I did more that one piece with a wipe. Then you just rinse and dry them off with a soft cloth. As soon as I wiped the tarnish was gone. May take a little more rubbing with a badly tarnished piece, but mine were pretty bad. Your bucket is gorgeous. I would have to keep that out.

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  2. Your silver is all lovely, I love it. I use Tarn-X and it works great. No polishing, but wipe it on, then rinse it off and dry. It has rescued many pieces. Buy that GW silver and leave it out and use it. I love the look and am trying to use more around the house. Hugs, Marty

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  3. ok. I have a 53 pieces of silver that I need to polish. Thanks for the tip. I guess I should get to polishing now.


    Mr. Goodwill Hunting

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  4. Beautiful treasure Pam, I don't know any other thing except different polishes, but for little silver jewellery I used to rub it with normal tooth paste and it sparkles like anything...
    Your silver Urn or Bucket whatever it is... Gorgeous... beautiful...
    Enjoy this post very much
    http://craftaworld.blogspot.com/
    Love
    Farah

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  5. Pam, I LOVE polishing silver! I have a chafing dish very similar to yours! My mom used to buy me those for Christmas when I lived in Washington because we entertained a lot there. I used to keep my flatware in the bags, then my mom bought a wooden silver chest, and it has done very well in there. I do use the Carbona wipes a lot because they will also clean brass and don't smell so bad. What I use most is Wright's silver polishing cream. I LOVE your champagne/wine bucket!!! I have been looking for one to use with my spode horses plates. I have not seen your table yet, so I'm off to visit. We have had all three kids home until today, and it has been very difficult to get anything done:-)

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  6. I am currently using the same brand you bought. I was using tarn x but having to repolish often, then someone told me it is a corrosive. IDK! Anyway, I tried to find the Wrights as I like that one better and had some left from years ago, but couldn't find anyone who sold it nearby.

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  7. GREAT tip about the toothbrush, that's the only problem I have with polishing silver. (I'm so weird, I actually enjoy polishing silver.)

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  8. Pam, I understand the desire to have every speck of your silver pieces polished to the nth degree. But consider that a little tarnish in the design really gives silver that well used patina that makes it so beautiful. We have a sterling childs cup that now has five generations of names on it (the first is dated 1869) and the older names look so much better with the aging in them. Just a thought.

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  9. Yes, but look how nice it all looks now. Silver and shiney.

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  10. I absolutely love silver and I don't mind polishing it (too much.) My grandmother loved it, if you can believe that. Her whole house needed a good cleaning, but she would sit and polish her silver.

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  11. I hear that if you USE your silver, you don't have to polish it as often. ;) Life is short...use your silver everyday and enjoy it.

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  12. The only silver I have is a hand me down set of flatware from my Mother. I have it all stacked in a plastic tub and it seems to be doing well. My mother has the same set as yours and she keeps it in those same flatware rolls..they seem to do really well in those. I never heard of anti tarnish strips but anything that helps is a plus!

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  13. I need to have a polishing party -- I use tarn-x if it's really black -- otherwise Wrights. I have some bags too - but I need more. I like the flatware rolls for my silverplate.

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