How To Polish Arts and Crafts Silver
Objectives
This may seem like an obvious question, but before polishing any of your silver, consider what are your objectives in polishing and what do you want the final piece to look like? One person’s aesthetic can differ from another’s, and how far you polish your silver can dramatically alter the appearance of your piece.
Whilst this is subjective, for arts and craft silver I would personally say do not over polish. You really do not want a modern shiny mirror like finish. I like a nice almost grey patina. Patina is not tarnish, it arises from the use of the silver over decades and centuries, forming tiny micro scratches on the silver that dull the surface. In my view you want to retain this through any polishing process. Each time a piece of silver is polished a very small amount of silver is removed. If you wish to preserve the chased and engraved areas of a piece of silver the less polishing that you do the better.
Also consider whether sunken areas of silver (edge of wirework, lowered areas of repousse) require polishing. A good designer or silversmith will have thought about how silver tarnishes and may well want the piece to develop silvery and black contrasts that can give depth and definition to a design.
It is also worth considering whether any of the silver is oxidised. This is a deliberate process of blackening silver using heat and chemicals by the silversmith / designer. An oxidised area of silver should never be polished as you will remove the dark patina and alter the piece’s aesthetic forever. Whilst uncommon, some arts and crafts silver was oxidised, and also it was much used in the slightly earlier aesthetic period. If you are unsure whether an item is heavily tarnished or in fact oxidised, best consult an expert before polishing.
Finally remember that your number one objective is not to break or damage the piece you are polishing. The polishing process places your item at its most vulnerable, take care. Remember that silver is a pretty soft material and that enamels are essentially thin layers of essentially irreparable
glass.
Where to polish?
This is not as obvious as it first may seem. Given your priority is to ensure that you cannot damage the silver, I recommend sitting at a table with a soft covering over the table. Since this is likely to get dirty, I recommend old towels or layers of newspaper (or both). Try and avoid standing and polishing.
At some point you are probably going to drop a piece whilst polishing – make sure it can withstand that. Also note that several of the silver polishes recommended below recommend that the room you are polishing in is well ventilated.
How often to polish?
How often will depend on how quickly your silver tarnishes. If kept in airtight cabinets or wrapped up, your silver may only need polishing annually or less. By contrast a piece left open in a room on a sideboard may need polishing every six to eight weeks or so.
How often also depends on how offended you are by a little tarnish. I would suggest with arts and crafts silver it was never meant to be highly polished to a mirror like finish and so live happily with some tarnish. The silver I have that is exposed to air I polish every few months only.
What you must not do is allow your silver to become so tarnished that the tarnish cannot be readily polished off with a cloth. As discussed below, you want to avoid, as far as possible, hard rubbing or abrasive silver polish, so better to polish gently and “often” than rarely and intensely
What polish to use?
There are no hard and fast rules, but these are my strongly held personal views. There is a hierarchy to use depending on the nature of the piece and extent of the tarnish.
Goddards long term silver polish (blue) cloth
These are very easy to use and gentle – but not hugely effective. They will not remove material tarnish and rubbing very hard with a cloth is to be avoided as, over time, you will wear the silver. I use a simple soft cloth (not synthetic) if I have been diligent in my frequency of polishing and am polishing silver that is only lightly tarnished.
Goddard’s silver polish foam
This is quite mild and easy to use. It is my first “go to choice” for items with tarnish in hard to get to areas. BUT IT REQUIRES THAT YOU USE WATER, AND NEVER USE WITH ITEMS THAT MAY TRAP WATER. So it is unsuited to many pieces including those with stones, enamels (water can get trapped behind) or with silver that may have holes (eg from casting), or of course with wood (eg frames). I emphasise the avoidance of water as, surprisingly, water will effectively rot silver over time, equivalent to iron rusting.
Goddard’s long term silver polish (pink) cream
This, when used with the Goddard’s cloth, is effective on tarnish of some age, but is not hugely effective. When used regularly it will prove quite abrasive. I use as infrequently as possible. It dries to a pink solid and gets in seams and grooves in the silver which looks ugly. So I use in conjunction with a toothpick or cocktail stick to clean out dried polish after polishing. For hard to get to areas try using cotton earbuds (Q-tips) dipped in a little cream and then go back over the polished area with a clean bud.
Silvo tarnish guard (white) cream for silver
This is highly effective and I use by placing on a Goddard’s cloth. I only use it with really quite tarnished items, typically those I am owning/cleaning for the first time. It is mildly abrasive and if used often or with overt polishing force will start to remove your silver’s patina. As with Goddards pink polish it dries to a visible powder and use a toothpick to remove dried polish. For hard to get to areas try using cotton earbuds (Q-tips) dipped in a little cream and then go back over the polished area with a clean bud.
Silver tarnish guard metal polish wadding for silver (Silvo Tarnish Guard))
This is a pink fibrous cloth that comes in a tin with a highly toxic and effective polish absorbed within the cloth. As far as possible never use this. Whilst this polish is highly effective, and sometimes has to be used as a last resort with dark long standing tarnish, it will rapidly (one polish only) remove the patina of your piece and make it bright, shiny and mirror like, losing much of its arts and crafts character.
Any chemical processes including dips
Use these very sparingly. These work by essentially replating the silver chemically. You will lose all tarnish and patina and your piece will look brand new and “wrong”. Some of these processes can also leave the silver looking slightly milky or white.
The main virtue of dipping is that you are not rubbing at delicate chased or engraved areas – this may be a valuable benefit over physical polishing for some pieces. If dip is used, never leave a piece soaking in it but just dip it in, remove it and rinse off under hot water.
How to polish silver with stones / enamels
This is a fairly specific problem to arts and craft silver. Generally speaking, try and keep polish off stones and enamels. Soft enamel (ie plastic, not fired) will rapidly deteriorate when polished. Some stones (turquoise) are relatively porous and can trap or absorb polish. On a brighter note, hard glass fired enamel and hard semi-precious stones (eg agates) are unlikely to be affected by polishing.
Also be careful not catch your polishing cloth on stone or enamel settings.
How to polish silver and copper mixed metal items
Again, this is a fairly specific problem for arts and craft silver. Most of the polishing processes described above will remove the patina on copper. Whatever your preference for silver brightness, you really don’t want shiny arts and crafts copper, so be careful to avoid polishing copper at all with any silver polishing cream or cloth. Using cotton buds can help most accurately keep the polish only on the silver. Simply use a dust cloth for copper.
Polishing kit
As already mentioned, a Goddards cloth is fundamental. I also recommend a toothpick or cocktail sticks. To remove tarnish in hard to get to areas I also recommend cotton buds (Q-tips). Use with polish and then without polish to clean off the residue polish and additional tarnish. Using a stiff toothbrush with polish (eg Silvo) can be appropriate for particularly difficult areas of silver to get to (and for which foam is inappropriate) but use sparingly and infrequently as nylon brushes can damage silver.
I recommend you wear gloves when polishing, both to protect your hands and the piece itself – there is no point in polishing a piece to then leave fingerprints all over it. Personally I find plastic “medical” type gloves best. Cotton gloves can get caught on silver and actual polishing mittens (these contain polish like a Goddard’s cloth) are just too cumbersome for any detailed polishing in my view.
Once you have finished polishing, I recommend wiping the piece with a normal cotton cloth. That will remove residue tarnish and polish.
Conclusion
Most silver pieces are easily and quickly polished. The key is simply not to let them get too tarnished, and not to care too much about removing every last area of tarnish. I would say that I can polish most pieces of my silver in well under a minute. However, for some pieces with stones, difficult shapes or copper you do need to take care and to focus thoughtfully on what you are doing.
Disclaimer
The views expressed below are my personal views. This is an inherently subjective area and you are most welcome to disagree with my recommendations. If you think there are errors in the above do please get in touch. I and The Peartree Collection Limited accept no liability for any damage that may be caused when you are polishing your silver.
The brands referenced in this document are the UK’s leading brands with which I am familiar and directly experienced. If outside the UK you may have to find equivalent local brands.
Anthony Bernbaum, founder of The Peartree Collection will be giving a talk on arts and crafts silver “Arts and crafts silver : Pioneering modernism” at this year’s Winter Olympia on 7th November 2015 at noon. To register for this lecture please use the form on this website or on the Olympia website.
The Peartree Collection will be exhibiting at The Winter Olympia Fine Art and Antiques Fair 2nd – 8th November stand E29 (at the end of the main walk way). For more details see