How We Polish Our Antique Metals

We get asked this question all the time. Assuming that we’re talking about a piece that should be polished… silver, silver plate, copper, brass, pewter and mystery metal… there are different answers.

Of course the first question is whether or not it should be polished. Bronze, gold gilt, and metal that has been oxidized for special effects should usually keep their patina. Don’t destroy the value by polishing away patina that’s supposed to be there. A light cleaning with a thin, damp cloth will remove the dust. A slightly damp Q-Tip may be needed for small crevices. Just cleaning can often make a huge difference.

Some metals will regain their patina rather quickly. Keeping brass, copper and sterling pieces bright will require polishing a few times a year if they are kept out and exposed to the air. It’s usually a quick job if you keep up with it.

We get many items in the store that have been neglected for years or even decades, and many aren’t the kinds of items that are supposed to have patina. People usually want to know how we get these cleaned up and polished. It’s not always a simple answer. It depends on what the issues are when we get the items… and what the metal is.

Silver is the easiest. We generally use Wrights Silver Cream, although there are a few similar products on the market. Never, never, never dip silver into liquid silver cleaner. It takes all the oxidation off and makes things look too new. Plus… it eats away too much of the silver surface. We don’t really like the silver polishing cloths because they leave a residue of silver cleaner behind, although many people swear by them. Our favorite is the Wrights pink paste that you rub into the silver with the damp sponge and rinse it off with water. Pieces that are heavily tarnished will take repeated polishing to get them cleaned up. Do not expect to get the tarnish out of the crevices. That’s supposed to be there. We always end by washing our pieces in dishwashing liquid and water. Then we dry them with a soft towel. And by the way, Sterling should never go in the dishwasher. For that matter, even stainless steel can become pitted in the dishwasher. But we know that’s how most people wash their stainless.

Now here’s a little secret about polishing silver, but you have to do this very carefully. When you need to polish silver that is right next to something that should not get wet… a watch face or a mirror, for example, it’s a problem. We very carefully use a mild liquid silver cleaner. Our choice is Hagerty Silver Clean. We put a Q-Tip into the liquid, squeeze out the excess and carefully go around the critical areas. You see the Q-Tip darken as it takes off the tarnish. When the area seems clean enough, use a damp thin cloth several times to remove all of the residue of silver cleaner.

Silver plate presents different problems. We use the pink paste, just as we do with sterling. If that does the job, then you’re finished. But with antique silver plate, there are often areas that are worn away, letting the base metal show through. Once you get the silver surface nice and bright, the base metal may look worse by comparison. We find the product that usually does the trick is Weiman Metal Polish for Brass, Copper & All Metals. It’s a thick liquid that comes in a plastic bottle and washes off with water. You put a generous amount on a damp sponge and polish the silver plated piece to shine up the base metal. Then rinse with water. The piece will then have a greasy feel that we don’t like. We usually wash it with dishwashing liquid and dry the pieces with a soft towel. That usually does the job, unless you feel it needs another round of silver polish. If the piece is to be used with food, always finish by washing the polish off with dishwashing liquid and water.

Antique brass and copper pieces sometimes have another problem… years of being polished, with years of polish residue in the crevices. The problem is that after you polish pieces, washing them with dishwashing liquid and water will dull the shine. So here’s how we solve this issue…

For the first polish we use Noxon 7 Metal Polish. It’s a thick liquid that comes in a plastic bottle. Pour a generous amount on to a damp sponge. If you’re polishing a large piece, just pour some into a bowl for dipping the sponge. Rub the polish into the metal and use it generously. It may take some elbow grease. (That’s an antique expression that brings back old memories!) After you’ve worked over the whole piece, leave it to dry, about 20 minutes. Then use an old terrycloth washcloth or other dry soft cloth and buff your brass or copper piece until most of the polish is gone. You’ll notice that the cloth is black with residue from the polish. Set the cloth aside. Wash the piece in dishwashing liquid and water. Use toothpicks to get into all the crevices that have polish residue. You may have to soak the piece for a while to loosen up the old polish. You don’t want to scratch the metal with the toothpick. You can also use a soft toothbrush to clean up some of the old polish. Again, don’t work the surface too hard. Soak it a little longer in soapy water to loosen the old polish. It rarely takes more than an hour to get the old polish softened up.

Once the piece is free of the old polish residue, you can get back to the primary surfaces. If the Noxon hasn’t gotten the piece totally cleaned up, try the Weiman Metal Polish. You may want to alternate between polishes or just use the one that seems to work the best. Rinse between each polishing and repeat until you think it looks pretty good. At the end, wash the piece with dishwashing liquid and water. Make sure you aren’t leaving any residue of polish. Dry it with a soft cloth. Now it should be clean and fairly shiny… but it won’t have that super shine that you want. This is when you go back to the dirty, black cloth you used to buff off the first round of Noxon. Use the black residue like a buffing cloth and you’ll see the shine really perk up. And you won’t be leaving behind any polish residue in the crevices.

Pewter can be tough. It depends on the silver content. The more silver, the more shine you can get from it. We usually start with the Weiman Metal Polish and finish with Wrights Silver Cream. If you can’t get it to shine, it’s usually because the silver content is low. So just do your best and finish with a wash and dry.

Once you do the initial cleaning and polishing, the maintenance is pretty easy. Use these tricks as needed, but it should all go much quicker and easier.

We’re not actually recommending any products in particular. There are many products that are similar to the ones mentioned here. Some stores carry different ones. But the thing to remember is that many metals are combinations of different metals, and one product will work better on some metals while another will work better on other metals.

Here are the basic products you should have in your closet.

1. Paste style silver polish
2. Thick liquid brass and copper polish that washes off with water
3. Thick liquid brass and copper polish that you buff off after it dries

You may have some beautiful pieces that you never use because they’ve become too tarnished. You’ll be amazed how much you enjoy using them once you get them looking the way they should.

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