Sterling Silver Pens, How To Restore The Shiny Aspect ?

[olivier78860]

I have a few sterling silver pens, which look pretty dull now.

I got most of them as NOS, meaning they had gone quite black after years in the ventures.

I was advised to use toothpaste, or classic silver cleaning products to clean the black traces. It worked quite well with both products. The black traces are gone.

But the silver isn't shiny anymore.

 

Any recommendation to restore the shiny aspect ?

 

Thanks in advance

Edited December 2, 2011 by olivier78860

[hari317]

I use sunshine cloth for my silver pens, works very well. I use cape cod cloth on the pens that are more tarnished and finish using sunshine cloth.

[olivier78860]

Thanks Hari; I will look into these clothes soon.

[Ghost Plane]

Some places they're marked jeweler's cloth or silver cloth. Too much toothpaste or harsh grit wears away the silver.

[Ron Z]

I use a Sunshine cloth both on my own pens and in the shop. They work very well and last quite a long time, even after they're dirty enough that you don't think that they should. Don't ever wash them BTW - then they won't work! I like them enough that I started to stock them.

 

What I don't use BTW, are the silver polishes, and only rarely use Simicrome. It's tough to get the polish out of nooks and crannies, and sometimes leaves a big mess. I've seen it start to corrode other metals with which it was left in contact.

Edited December 2, 2011 by Ron Z

[olivier78860]

Thanks a lot for the advice; it worked like a charm

 

All I could find was a brand called Hagerty "Silver & Jewel Cloth" (for silver, gold, platinum, diamonds, sapphires and rubies), for 4.5€ the cloth (31*24 cm), but it did the trick. And so incredibly easily and fast, I'm cursing myself for never asking earlier.

[Tom Heath]

Tarnish or Oxiadation or Patenia....

 

Hummmn!/?

 

It becomes a personal preference should you remove that Luxurious look which comes with only aged

unpolished sterling silver, silver plate or Gold filled pieces.

 

When found in the wild , the pens can look very grungie (sp).

 

Too much polish may produce a brilliant eye poping newness and if left that way will eventually

tarnish again.

 

Consider this, I once found what is called a Trench lighter, it was in brass and was quite dull

 

Having at that time become a fanatic about poiching my pens, Plastic, metal covered, all were nice and shiney.. So of course I got that trench lighter shining after a lot of polish and elbow greese.

 

I remember taking it to a pen show, and showing off my new find.. Several people saw it and liked it. congratulated me on my find and said, did you polish it of course I replied in the positive, oly to be then told, why did you do that , it took years to get that lovely patinia,

you have probably reduced the value of the Lighter as a result by up to 50%.

 

I had never considered that...

 

Now before I get the silver polish out, I make a decisiion as to what am I trying to accomplish

Oftertimes I am quite happy with the results of using a Jewlers Rouge Polishing Cloth and just brightening the finish and leavine a good deal of the patenia.

 

To polish or not is a personal decision.

 

Just one many thoughts.

 

Happy Restoring

Tom Heath

[Ghost Plane]

Exactly. I love the purple shades and my YoL Grand Victorian is far more appealing with the patina to show off the hand work. Only when a pen goes nasty black [like the time I shoved the silver pens in the safe with the arms and learned that gunpowder WILL tarnish all sorts of metals] do I haul out the cloth and have at it.

 

The only silver I like to keep shiny is the trim on the Montegrappas. It simply goes better with the lovely colors.

[Pen2009]

I am wondering how fast silver fountain pens start get tarnished without use, being stored in a pen cabinet. I have 8 sterling silver pens and I know I won't be able to keep using all of them at the same time.

 

Is the cleaning / poshing cloth which comes with the sterling silver pen as good as any other proper cleaning / polishing cloth?

Edited June 8, 2012 by Pen2009

[professionaldilettante]

Tarnish or Oxiadation or Patenia....

 

Hummmn!/?

 

It becomes a personal preference should you remove that Luxurious look which comes with only aged

unpolished sterling silver, silver plate or Gold filled pieces.

 

When found in the wild , the pens can look very grungie (sp).

 

Too much polish may produce a brilliant eye poping newness and if left that way will eventually

tarnish again.

 

Consider this, I once found what is called a Trench lighter, it was in brass and was quite dull

 

Having at that time become a fanatic about poiching my pens, Plastic, metal covered, all were nice and shiney.. So of course I got that trench lighter shining after a lot of polish and elbow greese.

 

I remember taking it to a pen show, and showing off my new find.. Several people saw it and liked it. congratulated me on my find and said, did you polish it of course I replied in the positive, oly to be then told, why did you do that , it took years to get that lovely patinia,

you have probably reduced the value of the Lighter as a result by up to 50%.

 

I had never considered that...

 

Now before I get the silver polish out, I make a decisiion as to what am I trying to accomplish

Oftertimes I am quite happy with the results of using a Jewlers Rouge Polishing Cloth and just brightening the finish and leavine a good deal of the patenia.

 

To polish or not is a personal decision.

 

Just one many thoughts.

 

Happy Restoring

Tom Heath

Same thing with straight razors. It's called a buff job, and really destroys the "antique" value of the object.

[Rowbo]

In another thread in the Montblanc forum I posted this linkwhich may be of interest to those who want to know some of the science of the silver tarnishing and how to slow it down. It is a page from the Victoria and Albert Museum, metalwork conservation department in London. Basically, it says that the higher the humidity and the higher the concentration of hydrogen sulphide in the atmosphere, the higher will be the rate of tarnishing i.e. the conversion of silver to black silver sulphide. So, to slow it down you have to keep your silver in a sealed container with a silica gel sachet.

 

Personally, I think silver should shine, though I don't have any pens of this material. Bronze looks good with a patina, but I don't have any pens made from that either

[professionaldilettante]

In another thread in the Montblanc forum I posted this linkwhich may be of interest to those who want to know some of the science of the silver tarnishing and how to slow it down. It is a page from the Victoria and Albert Museum, metalwork conservation department in London. Basically, it says that the higher the humidity and the higher the concentration of hydrogen sulphide in the atmosphere, the higher will be the rate of tarnishing i.e. the conversion of silver to black silver sulphide. So, to slow it down you have to keep your silver in a sealed container with a silica gel sachet.

 

Personally, I think silver should shine, though I don't have any pens of this material. Bronze looks good with a patina, but I don't have any pens made from that either

Silver does shine, and the patina is of a subdued silver color, nothing like that of chrome or other plating materials. It's got something that you can tell is distinctly sterling. If you use it, it should in theory, never turn black on you.

[Pen2009]

Silver does shine, and the patina is of a subdued silver color, nothing like that of chrome or other plating materials. It's got something that you can tell is distinctly sterling. If you use it, it should in theory, never turn black on you.

Platinum Pen Co also incldues a small piece of paper in the pen box for its sterling silver pens, stating it recommends the regular use of the pen to avoid tarnishing. But, does a sterling silver pen need to be wiped off regularyly after use?

[jar]

Silver does shine, and the patina is of a subdued silver color, nothing like that of chrome or other plating materials. It's got something that you can tell is distinctly sterling. If you use it, it should in theory, never turn black on you.

Platinum Pen Co also incldues a small piece of paper in the pen box for its sterling silver pens, stating it recommends the regular use of the pen to avoid tarnishing. But, does a sterling silver pen need to be wiped off regularyly after use?

 

It depends on your body chemistry. Do sterling silver rings turn black if you wear them? If so the the answer is yes.

[professionaldilettante]

Silver does shine, and the patina is of a subdued silver color, nothing like that of chrome or other plating materials. It's got something that you can tell is distinctly sterling. If you use it, it should in theory, never turn black on you.

Platinum Pen Co also incldues a small piece of paper in the pen box for its sterling silver pens, stating it recommends the regular use of the pen to avoid tarnishing. But, does a sterling silver pen need to be wiped off regularyly after use?

That really depends. Do you use it regularly? I know from my own experiences with silver, is that I can wear it 24/7 and it won't tarnish. However, if i take those pieces off, and let them sit for a year, they will turn black. However, as soon as I wear them for more than a day, they shine back up. Even if you wiped it off, it won't really help. I have a silver ring that I cleaned till it was pristine, and handled with gloves only after it was cleaned of all oils and such, and it still tarnishes. I think it's something to do with the air. It shouldn't be a problem if you are using it regularly.

[Pippin60]

I use a Sunshine cloth both on my own pens and in the shop. They work very well and last quite a long time, even after they're dirty enough that you don't think that they should. Don't ever wash them BTW - then they won't work! I like them enough that I started to stock them.

 

What I don't use BTW, are the silver polishes, and only rarely use Simicrome. It's tough to get the polish out of nooks and crannies, and sometimes leaves a big mess. I've seen it start to corrode other metals with which it was left in contact.

 

 

 

+1 I have never had a pen so bad that sunshine cloth didnt do the trick. Polishing creames are too abrasive.

 

I also use this cloth on some antique pocket watches and trust it.

[Ron Z]

+1 I have never had a pen so bad that sunshine cloth didn't do the trick. Polishing creams are too abrasive.

 

I also use this cloth on some antique pocket watches and trust it.

 

I can't tell you how many times I've seen damage caused by using a paste or liquid cleaner. If you don't get it ALL off of the metal, it can cause corrosion, and it's nasty because it's tough to clean out of the nooks and crannies (which is why it was left there in the first place).

 

A Sunshine cloth uses a micro-crystal abrasive that removes tarnish without chemicals. They're packaged to be sold by jewelery shops. I've been using the same cloth for something like three years. That cloth, abandoned by a dealer at a pen show, convinced me to use them, and to sell them. It's worn and ugly, but it still works.