Cleaning a Sterling Silver Parker Rollerball

[jsb27]

I recently acquired a Parker rollerball in cisele finish. From the outside it looks like a classic 75, except it's a rollerball. Can someone please tell me the best way to clean the tarnish off the more low-lying places in the pattern? I am thinking of a soft toothbrush with silver cream polish. Would that be acceptable?

 

Also, what is the best polish to use on the gold-plated parts?

 

Many thanks.

Edited June 10, 2008 by jsb27

[Oxonian]

Hello and welcome to FPN,

 

One thing to remember about the Ciselé pattern is that the channels between the lands are supposed to be darker than the lands, it makes the pattern stand out. A soft toothbrussh with some ordinary soap will clean the various sorts of crud from the channels without destroying the finish that is supposed to be there.

 

The best polish to clean Sterling silver is really none at all, if you get a jewellers polishing cloth and gently rub the pen the result is usually very good, the cloth is safe on Parker gold fill trim. Polishing cloths can be had from most good jewellers and sometimes from hobby stores, they cost anything from a couple of dollars to about $12 depending on where you buy them and ho made them, these cloths have two parts one is the polishing part which has a very fine abrasive impregnated in it and the other is the buffing cloth.

 

If you do not want the really highly polished bright finish which makes decent silver look like aluminium (or aluminum as you call it in the colonies) wash the pen with warm soapy water, dry it on a tissue or lint free cloth and gently buff it with the buffing section of the jewellers cloth.

 

Cheers, John

[OnPoint]

Hello and welcome to FPN,

 

... these cloths have two parts one is the polishing part which has a very fine abrasive impregnated in it and the other is the buffing cloth....

 

In case you see one, a one-part polishing cloth called Sunshine Cloth is sometimes available at jeweler's stores and is a fine substitute for the two-part cloths Oxonian has mentioned.

 

[jsb27]

Hello and welcome to FPN,

 

... these cloths have two parts one is the polishing part which has a very fine abrasive impregnated in it and the other is the buffing cloth....

 

In case you see one, a one-part polishing cloth called Sunshine Cloth is sometimes available at jeweler's stores and is a fine substitute for the two-part cloths Oxonian has mentioned.

 

Thank you very much for sharing your knowledge with me. Guess I'm off to my local jeweler to check out their supply of polishing cloths!

 

J

[jsb27]

Hi, Guys:

 

Well, I stopped off at a high-end jeweler in San Rafael (you know, one of those places where everything costs between two and three times as much as it should...) and picked up a two-part polishing cloth, made by Connoisseur (connoisseur.com). The white part of it is the cleaning part and then there's a lavender part that is the polisher/finisher. The two cloths are joined together by a sewn seam at one end.

 

When I took the cleaning part to my Parker 75, I was absolutely amazed how much tarnish came off. I was able to remove over 99% of the tarnish from the gold ends and I think if I were to work at it just a little more, I might be able to get it all off. The pen simply gleams now, and looks almost new. Wish I'd taken a before and after pic!

 

Thanks a million to both of you for this perfect suggestion!

 

John B.

Novato, CA