How to restore silverware?
by
Brigitte
My son put three silver dinner forks that I inherited from my long deceased grandmother into the dishwasher (after being told never to do this). Unfortunately they now look terrible. What to do, can they be restored?
Please help.
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Suggested Project Book
Here is a tutorial https://www.hometalk.com/diy/clean/silver/how-to-naturally-polish-silver-24421940
How to Naturally Polish Silver
I agree with Scarlet's suggestion, but I wouldn't go by what toothpaste was used in the project she sent to you. For the best results, just use good old fashioned white toothpaste with no gel, whitening, baking soda, etc. just plain toothpaste, I don't think brand or cost makes a difference. Any additives could have an affect on the silver or scratch the surface. Toothpaste is excellent to use on most all metals, and as the project states, cleans off much easier than other methods including the foil method (bad for silver and silver plate, it removes some metal and also leaves a film that isn't always easy to get off), and the silver cleaner which the gray residual can be a challenge to get off in the best of times. Take care of the silver you inherited and use the safest method of toothpaste so that you can hand the silver down to the next generation and so on.
The beaching agent in the dish washing soap reacted with the silver turning it a blue black colur. Have you tried rubbing a small paste of baking soda in a hidden spot to see it would remove the discolouration. Sometimes some old fashion tooth paste works using a soft cloth