Polishing silver - suggestions?

[DustyBin]

I use a UK silver polish, Silvo, which is great at getting the dirt off, but wonder if there are any slightly more abrasive metal polishes that might remove some of the small scratches common to solid silver pens?

[Ernst Bitterman]

I would suggest seeking out the various grades of jeweler's rouge for that sort of application... as long as you're sure that the silver is solid. No one wants to polish away the plating (and I say this less for your consumption than those that may read this later).

[Nihontochicken]

Retail commercial polishing creams such as Simichrome and Flitz contain very fine but very hard and aggressive particles. I'm leery of recommending them for silver, however. They will certainly remove metal faster than a fine silver polish such as Wright's, but the problem is that in removing scratches deeper than a silver polish can do in reasonable time, you risk inducing flats/waves/ripples into the silver surface, since you can't really remove the much metal evenly with your fingers. If the silver is stained with a brown/black sulfide layer, I'd recommend trying a reducing agent first, such as Tarn-X, which chemically converts the silver sulfide to elemental silver. However, if very thick, the porous reduced silver layer will sit on the surface like a white chalk. The chalky layer can be removed with a silver polish, and will likely result in less surface wear overall than just going with a polish in the first place. Also, the residual Tarn-X or the like must be thoroughly washed off. It's not a silver preservative, and, in fact, if left on the article, the acid nature of the solution will promote more corrosion.

[Ernst Bitterman]

There's some kind of oxidation-reversing stunt to be done with a solution of Calgonite water-softening powder and a sheet of aluminum. I've never tried it myself, and I'd not try it with something that has non-silver parts exposed, but it might be worth a google for-- likely a cheaper route than Tarn-X.

[Nihontochicken]

Yup. or baking soda dissolved in water plus aluminum foil or aluminum pot or pan. I haven't as yet tried this myself, but have some very tarnished coin silver spoons coming "in the mail" and so will likely give it a try. I realize that this silver sulfide reduction explanation was beyond the original inquiry, but thought I'd throw it in for others who may be tuning in. Particularly with regards to flatware, silver collectors like having an original patina on the piece, and over-polishing is an oft encountered disappointment.

[Hoarder68]

A soft, damp cloth with a small amount of dissolved baking soda will do a good job and should not harm the surface.

[DustyBin]

Thanks for the advice guys. The pens I have to tackle are a Waterman Man 100 and a Waterman Gentleman, both in solid .925 silver. I'll probably have a go at the baking soda idea... the others stretch my high school chemistry knowledge a little too far!!