Horror of horrors: cleaning a silver medal !!!!!

[Rombalds]

I have just bought a silver medal that is really very black …. dare I say rather ugly? I would love to clean it but am fully aware that this is heresy or sacrilegious or both to a true medal aficionado. Is it really that bad to polish it just once? Its not hugely valuable (circa $45) and will be kept in semi-sealed plastic thereafter so will have minimal contact with the air. Thanks for any advice.

[marv]

I have just bought a silver medal that is really very black …. dare I say rather ugly? I would love to clean it but am fully aware that this is heresy or sacrilegious or both to a true medal aficionado. Is it really that bad to polish it just once? Its not hugely valuable (circa $45) and will be kept in semi-sealed plastic thereafter so will have minimal contact with the air. Thanks for any advice.

 

Don't use mechanical abrasion, i.e., don't polish it or rub it with anything. Use a dip. If it's very black, you may end up with something that is not very attractive after removing the toning, but, then it's not very attractive right now anyway.

 

You can try dipping in a very diluted solution of dip, or use the concentrated stuff for a very short time. Either way, use successive dips with a rinsing in between with distilled water. Take a look, and if you want to remove more, then do it again. Rinse after each dip and decide if you want to continue or it looks like you want it to look. You should change the rinse water frequently. When you're done, rinse one more time with fresh distilled water and either lightly pat dry, don't rub, or tap the edge of the coin on a paper towel until all the water is absorbed on the towel. Make sure to use distilled water for the rinse. Ordinary tap water or bottled drinking water has much dissolved mineral content and will leave spots.

 

You can go to JP's corner (http://www.jpscorner.com). They have lots of dipping (cleaning) solutions.

 

Marv Finnley