Thank you for this video. I just found my great,great grandmother’s silver bowl in my Dad’s closet. It had a slip of paper inside dated 1903. It’s a pretty piece and I would love to see it shiny again,
Your shinny silver is lovely! Silver maintenance is a pain but the outcome is SO lovely! I hope appreciation of silver returns in the future. Nothing compares to a beautifully set table!
I’m so happy with this process I’ve never cleaned my silver so easily before! I’m not a tech person so I don’t know how to show you a photo of how awesome my pieces turned out. But trust me, I’ve shared this video with all my friends. I will never clean silver any other way!
For those of us who love the look of silver but hate to polish it, look into Renaissance Wax. It's a high quality professional material used by museums to help preserve items. On anything that isn't for food use, Renaissance wax will preserve the shine for a year or more. It makes silver care much easier.
I have recently discovered the joy of using my Dremel tool with jewelers Rouge and buffing pads; I was able to bring a few pieces to a mirror like Polish and they are stunning ! I take care to always keep the pad moving and not to over Polish. What a joy, as I too recently received a few silver plate pieces and was thinking to myself that this feels like a new hobby as I polished them! Thank you for the video!
Thanks ... very helpful. I needed a reminder of how to do this ... use to use the same technique when we cleaned the silver jewelry in the shop I use to manage. As a side note, some pieces like candelabras often screw apart and make it easier to dip into water. Thanks again, JS.
Just bought a 20’s silver plate flatware set at a garage sale- They are so much prettier than stainless. Now I’m hooked on adding some additional pieces . Glad to see there us a budget friendly alternative to polish!
Thank you. I prefer the shiny finish but also enjoy a little variation in color when a piece has a deeply etched pattern...down inside. I usually clean mine with silver polish. I like what you did and will try it. I agree that it can be relaxing and it's a good feeling when you finish. They look so beautiful.
this was such a relaxing video to watch - thank you for the valuable information and I am now excited to polish up my newly acquired silver plated pieces!
Great tips! I just bought a 100 year old silver carving set at auction and they need a nice cleaning and polish this makes it a lot easier than I thought
Nice work, it’s also nice to see someone else who appreciates these old pieces 😊 years back I purchased a pair of candle holders from a garage sale for cheap as they thought they were wrought iron 😂 so black, friends teased me about buying them, after a few hrs of polishing voila beautiful silver
Thank you for this video! I love both versions, I wait and see how each new piece feels before i decide to shine up or not, some pieces definitely look better one way over the other. Also. That candelabra is gorgeous!!
Found a Goham bowl and was excited it might be Sterling worth $1,800! Was plated and only worth $24. I've see this trick years ago but thought it was an immediate change. Maybe you need copper in the bottom??? BTW: You have great taste and a beautiful home.
Will you be doing a video on how to best store silver pieces Also perhaps what average costs are of use pieces that you are finding out in the market. Thanks
Can store silver in airtight bags with a strip of silver protective paper . Think Macys has them or used back in the day. Treated flannel cloth protect silver also.
I like both versions. Nice method! I will have to try it. I only have a few silver utensils and I have polished them using toothpaste and an old soft toothbrush which works well. I would hate to polish something big that way though.
Very helpful video -- thank you. BTW, I recognize those spoons as being from Breck's once upon a time. I have a few myself. (Oops, giving away my age here.)
I could not even find silver polish at the store and it’s a good thing because it would have been a waste of money now that I know your method. At the Goodwill I saw a gold plated tea set and balked at the $135. price tag. In the 1970’s I had a teacher who bought a solid silver tea set and I thought it was the most elegant thing that I ever saw…..and now these days I am shocked to see how cheaply silver pieces are being sold on Ebay.
So glad I found this video, cleaning out my grandma’s attic after her passing, and there’s lots of silver pieces. What kind of cloth do you use for the polishing? And how did you get into the “nooks and crannies” of the more elaborate pieces? Thanks!
I have inherited a Dutch spoon from my Oma. Think it's silver plated. It looks sort of golden with tarnish. Worried that will damage it if try polish. I also live in an area that tends to tarnish silver (geothermal).
I would like to comment before I do this. I have to say that I tried it once with the baking soda and hot water and foil and it did not work, but I see you have an extra ingredient which is the salt. I’ll be trying that in checking to see if it works once again thank you for the information.
Thanks for this video & sharing your knowledge and know-how. I have some old S&P shakers of my great-grandparents to do this on. They're similar to the ones you had on your table. Are there any tips or tricks I should know regarding cleaning these? Also, to answer your question, I prefer the UNtarnished version of silver & silverplate because I want to imagine (in my case) what the S&P shakers looked like when my great-grandparents received them as a gift.
Instead of leaving it in the mixture, could I possibly dip a toothbrush in and then scrub the item? I have a silver jewelry box that needs cleaning, but it has a velvet lining that I don’t want to get wet. I’ve used this method on jewelry before but never scrubbed it manually so I can’t decide.
Thanks for sharing your process & pointing out that we should polish after. I like your calm, informative manner. Question -- you, and others, advise using salt in addition to baking soda, while other videos only mention baking soda. What is the benefit of salt in the process?
From what I’ve gathered salt is handy for really stubborn areas of tarnish but to be honest just baking soda is more than enough usually. It does seem like kind of an oxymoron because salt is corrosive so it’s an interesting balance of is it corrosive to the tarnish or the plating itself. But I feel letting it corrode the tarnish and polishing it off gently afterwards is safe.
I cleaned my silver plate and rinsed before drying. Placed them.on a towel on my butcher block counter. Omg. The tarnish is now.iny counter. Baking soda, hydrogen peroxide did a little to take it out. How can I put the color back in the areas that are fading. Coverr your counters!
Does anyone recommend to eat in a silver plate or have a tea silver service? I have a lot of porcelain but sadly if you are not carefull it tend to broke. Anyone recommend it?
I think the way you did it left a little of the lowlights on the pieces. I like that. Silver needs the dark part in the grooves to bring out the pattern. Have you ever considered washing soda instead of baking soda?
Does cleaning have the risk of diminishing maker marks? I have some vintage British silver plate flatware that has mother of pearl handles and I'm worried cleaning could damage the maker marks and mother of pearl.
Very interesting video. I have a very old silver bowl from my great grandmother. But it became green in some parts. Do you think I can get rid of this with this way?
Thanks for watching, that’s a very interesting question. I have limited knowledge of chemistry and metals but I think copper typically turns green so if the bowl is plated it could be that the plating had worn down and you’re seeing the base copper. Which wouldn’t really be fixable. True silver usually turns brown or black on the surface but if it is some weird green substance then I would imagine this process would either help or in any case not make things worse for your great grandma’s bowl.
Does anyone know if this method works on silver plate that's really yellow? I suspect a previous owner may have used tarn X. The more I've looked into this, people have said tarn X will make it really yellow It's otherwise very uniformly shiny
I've inherited my Grandma's wedding silver from the 1940's as well as a water pitcher from the 1950's that's silver over copper. Should the whole thing have been plated when new? There's a green smudge inside, would that be where the plating has failed do you think?
I followed directions basically the same as this but the site called for leaving them in the pot for 30 min. After the 30 min I took the items out and rubbed them with clean microfiber cloth and to my dismay some of the plating came off to reveal copper 😢
can i get away with my great grandmothers silver plate silverware set for my family of 6 for daily use? I am willing to clean it like this from time to time.
I’ve been using my mother’s plated silverware everyday for nearly 50 years. It’s the only everyday flatware that I own and I raised three kids with it. Before me, my mother used it everyday for about 40 years. It gets polished periodically. When used regularly it doesn’t tarnish as quickly. It has been washed in a dishwasher for most of that time- yes, knives too. And, yes, dishwashers have been around a long time!, I do NOT recommend using any super-quick submersive method such as that described as they cause a chemical reaction that removes some of the plating and the shine is kind of dull/ grayish. And for any decorative areas, it removes the tarnish from even the deeper parts of the design, taking away that rich look. I recommend Hagerty’s or Wenol (both available on line or where fine china is sold) and finish with an old t-shirt or soft tea towel to avoid scratching. Polishing is an amazingly satisfying process, especially if there’s a movie you’ve been wanting to watch! Oh yes, my silverware shows some wear but it’s older than me and it could handle another generation!
I would recommend a smooth soft one without much texture to it if possible, something like a torn up old cotton t shirt. Just don’t go in with anything too scratchy like a Brillo pad
I use silver polish cloth that you can get at jewelers or even the jewelry department at Walmart and other stores that have jewelry dept. They also make these cloths for polishing gold .
ahh u forgot to add White vinegar that would eliminate the polish step . been doing it for years on my silver plate and sterling with brilliant results
Thank you for this video. I just found my great,great grandmother’s silver bowl in my Dad’s closet. It had a slip of paper inside dated 1903. It’s a pretty piece and I would love to see it shiny again,
Thats cool, I looked up this video to clean an item and it's THE EXACT same teapot you picked up.
Me too! 🤣
We love that you are taking care of your Grandma's spoons❤️❤️
I hope she’s happy about it!
Your shinny silver is lovely! Silver maintenance is a pain but the outcome is SO lovely! I hope appreciation of silver returns in the future. Nothing compares to a beautifully set table!
Thank you!
I’m so happy with this process I’ve never cleaned my silver so easily before! I’m not a tech person so I don’t know how to show you a photo of how awesome my pieces turned out. But trust me, I’ve shared this video with all my friends. I will never clean silver any other way!
For those of us who love the look of silver but hate to polish it, look into Renaissance Wax. It's a high quality professional material used by museums to help preserve items. On anything that isn't for food use, Renaissance wax will preserve the shine for a year or more. It makes silver care much easier.
I will look into that. I don't use it for serving, just display so I guess this will work for me :D
Thanks Andrew. This has been very helpful. I really like your clear and straightforward presentation style.
I have recently discovered the joy of using my Dremel tool with jewelers Rouge and buffing pads; I was able to bring a few pieces to a mirror like Polish and they are stunning ! I take care to always keep the pad moving and not to over Polish. What a joy, as I too recently received a few silver plate pieces and was thinking to myself that this feels like a new hobby as I polished them! Thank you for the video!
Thanks ... very helpful. I needed a reminder of how to do this ... use to use the same technique when we cleaned the silver jewelry in the shop I use to manage. As a side note, some pieces like candelabras often screw apart and make it easier to dip into water. Thanks again, JS.
Just bought a 20’s silver plate flatware set at a garage sale- They are so much prettier than stainless. Now I’m hooked on adding some additional pieces . Glad to see there us a budget friendly alternative to polish!
Excellent tutorial - I like the shiny renewed look. Thanks for sharing your expertise.
Thank you. I prefer the shiny finish but also enjoy a little variation in color when a piece has a deeply etched pattern...down inside. I usually clean mine with silver polish. I like what you did and will try it. I agree that it can be relaxing and it's a good feeling when you finish. They look so beautiful.
I love the feeling of freshly polished and washed silver. I don't mind the occasional work to keep it looking great.
this was such a relaxing video to watch - thank you for the valuable information and I am now excited to polish up my newly acquired silver plated pieces!
Great tips! I just bought a 100 year old silver carving set at auction and they need a nice cleaning and polish this makes it a lot easier than I thought
Nice work, it’s also nice to see someone else who appreciates these old pieces 😊 years back I purchased a pair of candle holders from a garage sale for cheap as they thought they were wrought iron 😂 so black, friends teased me about buying them, after a few hrs of polishing voila beautiful silver
Glad you found some treasures underneath the grime!
Thank you for this video! I love both versions, I wait and see how each new piece feels before i decide to shine up or not, some pieces definitely look better one way over the other. Also. That candelabra is gorgeous!!
Thank you for watching and commenting!
I'm always a fan of the tarnished patina of old silver and silver plate, but I did enjoy your video.
Thank you for this easy way to bring my plated items back to life. I like it shiny.
Great teaching video! Just in time for the coming holidays. THANK YOU!!
On some pieces with designs, it looks good to have some dark areas, but this technique is wonderful! Saves a lot of time. 👍
Came here to say this lol. But yes, shiny is nice on occasion, but antiquated pieces really add additional depth and character to items with detailing
I think the polished and the antiquated look are equally nice! Depends on intended use 😊
Very helpful, I like the pieces either way… However, this has been really helpful for some antique silver plate, Rogers vintage pattern silver plate
Your grandmother would love you!!! After cleaning I use Windex to polish & shine. Good video!
Great suggestion!
Once polished, if washed once or twice a month in warm water and dish detergent will keep the pieces shining.
Very helpful I have so many pieces I need to Clean and Polish.
I think I prefer the shiny look
I like both but it is so rewarding to get them nice and shiny! Thanks for the comment Katherine :)
Thank you soo much for the video. My antique silver is gorgeous 😍
Found a Goham bowl and was excited it might be Sterling worth $1,800! Was plated and only worth $24. I've see this trick years ago but thought it was an immediate change. Maybe you need copper in the bottom??? BTW: You have great taste and a beautiful home.
Love the polished look
This is a relaxing activity, agreed
Nice job !
Will you be doing a video on how to best store silver pieces Also perhaps what average costs are of use pieces that you are finding out in the market. Thanks
What's the purpose of the aluminum foil?... since the first pot you use to dip the silverware into seems to be made of aluminium?
@@daves2624 keeps the aliens away duh
Can store silver in airtight bags with a strip of silver protective paper . Think Macys has them or used back in the day. Treated flannel cloth protect silver also.
Treated with what? Are you meaning a piece of a silver polishing cloth?
I like both versions. Nice method! I will have to try it. I only have a few silver utensils and I have polished them using toothpaste and an old soft toothbrush which works well. I would hate to polish something big that way though.
What does the aluminum foil do?
Thank you! I have a hotel coffee pot I pushed to the back of the shelf.
You bet!
Very helpful video -- thank you. BTW, I recognize those spoons as being from Breck's once upon a time. I have a few myself. (Oops, giving away my age here.)
Looks great. I like the shine
I could not even find silver polish at the store and it’s a good thing because it would have been a waste of money now that I know your method. At the Goodwill I saw a gold plated tea set and balked at the $135. price tag. In the 1970’s I had a teacher who bought a solid silver tea set and I thought it was the most elegant thing that I ever saw…..and now these days I am shocked to see how cheaply silver pieces are being sold on Ebay.
I find silver polish at the jewelry counter at department stores and probably also available at jewelry stores.
simple process, and the results sure are impressive!
Thank you Atomic Pancake 🥞:)
Looks amazing! Thank you.. personally I prefer the shiny pieces but some pieces look great with the patina… depends on the use I guess.
Polished!!!! Thank you for this video! ❤
Thank you Abby!
So glad I found this video, cleaning out my grandma’s attic after her passing, and there’s lots of silver pieces. What kind of cloth do you use for the polishing? And how did you get into the “nooks and crannies” of the more elaborate pieces? Thanks!
Now how do you get the dark grooves out of the candelabra you've still left? Toothbrush? Drill polisher? Leave it?
Great instructions for this process and looks pretty easy! Are you using a regular towel for polishing or a specific polishing cloth? Thanks!
I have inherited a Dutch spoon from my Oma. Think it's silver plated. It looks sort of golden with tarnish. Worried that will damage it if try polish. I also live in an area that tends to tarnish silver (geothermal).
Thank you! I love the shine! Your grandma would be thrilled! Have you tried the anti tarnish storage bags?
Does this work for EMESS silver plated also. I love the shiny look
is it food safe even when the silver plate is coming off?
I would like to comment before I do this. I have to say that I tried it once with the baking soda and hot water and foil and it did not work, but I see you have an extra ingredient which is the salt. I’ll be trying that in checking to see if it works once again thank you for the information.
Does this also help with water marks on silver plate?
Thanks for this video & sharing your knowledge and know-how. I have some old S&P shakers of my great-grandparents to do this on. They're similar to the ones you had on your table. Are there any tips or tricks I should know regarding cleaning these? Also, to answer your question, I prefer the UNtarnished version of silver & silverplate because I want to imagine (in my case) what the S&P shakers looked like when my great-grandparents received them as a gift.
Instead of leaving it in the mixture, could I possibly dip a toothbrush in and then scrub the item? I have a silver jewelry box that needs cleaning, but it has a velvet lining that I don’t want to get wet. I’ve used this method on jewelry before but never scrubbed it manually so I can’t decide.
Is that a polishing cloth or just a soft rag?
Thanks for sharing your process & pointing out that we should polish after. I like your calm, informative manner.
Question -- you, and others, advise using salt in addition to baking soda, while other videos only mention baking soda. What is the benefit of salt in the process?
From what I’ve gathered salt is handy for really stubborn areas of tarnish but to be honest just baking soda is more than enough usually. It does seem like kind of an oxymoron because salt is corrosive so it’s an interesting balance of is it corrosive to the tarnish or the plating itself. But I feel letting it corrode the tarnish and polishing it off gently afterwards is safe.
I like the antiquated look , believe it or not .
Might mention the candelabra is screwed together and may be easily disassembled for cleaning.
Good job, Andrew.
That’s very good way to remove tarnish , is it safe for Queens Anne silver ware too ??
I cleaned my silver plate and rinsed before drying. Placed them.on a towel on my butcher block counter. Omg. The tarnish is now.iny counter. Baking soda, hydrogen peroxide did a little to take it out. How can I put the color back in the areas that are fading. Coverr your counters!
What is used for polishing ..??
Does anyone recommend to eat in a silver plate or have a tea silver service? I have a lot of porcelain but sadly if you are not carefull it tend to broke. Anyone recommend it?
how often do you typically need to do this?
Can I do this on a Sheffield Plate teapot with a wooden handle and lid finial?
excellent.. thank you!
Thanks Andrew
I think the way you did it left a little of the lowlights on the pieces. I like that. Silver needs the dark part in the grooves to bring out the pattern.
Have you ever considered washing soda instead of baking soda?
I think silver is beautiful in any of its forms, but personally, I prefer the tarnished blackish and shiny stage.
great info! What do you use to "polish" after cleaning? Just a terry cloth?
Just a plain ol cloth yeah
I think microfiber cloth would work really well.
What kind of cloth did you rub the silver with.
I try to clean mine but a lot of Milne are in storage but you made me double think this.
What a nice video, thank you for sharing!
Does cleaning have the risk of diminishing maker marks? I have some vintage British silver plate flatware that has mother of pearl handles and I'm worried cleaning could damage the maker marks and mother of pearl.
@johnmeigs719 Thank you for your response. I still need to find someone to appraise the pieces and see if it's practical to clean them.
I've got a mental clock how would I go about cleaning it? I'd have to se d you a image of it
Good job 😊 thank you!
Thanks for watching :)
how do you keep those IMUSA pots so clean?
Very interesting video. I have a very old silver bowl from my great grandmother. But it became green in some parts. Do you think I can get rid of this with this way?
Thanks for watching, that’s a very interesting question. I have limited knowledge of chemistry and metals but I think copper typically turns green so if the bowl is plated it could be that the plating had worn down and you’re seeing the base copper. Which wouldn’t really be fixable. True silver usually turns brown or black on the surface but if it is some weird green substance then I would imagine this process would either help or in any case not make things worse for your great grandma’s bowl.
Does anyone know if this method works on silver plate that's really yellow? I suspect a previous owner may have used tarn X. The more I've looked into this, people have said tarn X will make it really yellow
It's otherwise very uniformly shiny
It helps to use a toothbrush for the Candelabrum.
I've inherited my Grandma's wedding silver from the 1940's as well as a water pitcher from the 1950's that's silver over copper. Should the whole thing have been plated when new? There's a green smudge inside, would that be where the plating has failed do you think?
Can’t say for sure unless I saw and even then I’m not an expert, but at least it’s on the inside/not readily visible. That’s lucky!
Try Zildjian cymbal polish. You’ll be absolutely amazed.
Great suggestion!
Looks great!
I followed directions basically the same as this but the site called for leaving them in the pot for 30 min. After the 30 min I took the items out and rubbed them with clean microfiber cloth and to my dismay some of the plating came off to reveal copper 😢
Great video. Thank you so much! It works great.
can i get away with my great grandmothers silver plate silverware set for my family of 6 for daily use? I am willing to clean it like this from time to time.
I’ve been using my mother’s plated silverware everyday for nearly 50 years. It’s the only everyday flatware that I own and I raised three kids with it. Before me, my mother used it everyday for about 40 years. It gets polished periodically. When used regularly it doesn’t tarnish as quickly. It has been washed in a dishwasher for most of that time- yes, knives too. And, yes, dishwashers have been around a long time!, I do NOT recommend using any super-quick submersive method such as that described as they cause a chemical reaction that removes some of the plating and the shine is kind of dull/ grayish. And for any decorative areas, it removes the tarnish from even the deeper parts of the design, taking away that rich look. I recommend Hagerty’s or Wenol (both available on line or where fine china is sold) and finish with an old t-shirt or soft tea towel to avoid scratching. Polishing is an amazingly satisfying process, especially if there’s a movie you’ve been wanting to watch! Oh yes, my silverware shows some wear but it’s older than me and it could handle another generation!
Enjoyed your video mate 👍
Thanks mate!
Just what I was looking for. thank you
Thank you very much
Thank you, great info.
Thanks so much! Shiny for me.
Is there a specific type of cloth that should be used to polish silver plate with?
I would recommend a smooth soft one without much texture to it if possible, something like a torn up old cotton t shirt. Just don’t go in with anything too scratchy like a Brillo pad
I use silver polish cloth that you can get at jewelers or even the jewelry department at Walmart and other stores that have jewelry dept. They also make these cloths for polishing gold .
good info! and side note - the only thing hotter than the water is him! such a cutie!! :)
ahh u forgot to add White vinegar that would eliminate the polish step . been doing it for years on my silver plate and sterling with brilliant results
How much vinegar do you add? Thank you.
They both are nice!
thank you!
So much better than Wright's Sliver polish!
Wow I like your collections.
how long does it last??
shinier - definitely!
Thank you- subscribed 😊
Thanks, very cool channel.
Thanks! Is there a chemical reason behind lining the pot with aluminum foil?