So my in-laws gave Elliot and me this beautiful silver platter serving dish that I think belonged to one of the grandparents. I wanted to spiff it up and remove any tarnish, and this lady at an antique store told me about a technique that "easily removes tarnish" - well 2 attempts later (approximately 45 minutes, which mind you is about as long as an episode of Mad Men) I still have a tarnished platter.
Here are specific instructions from a university chemisty deptartment (aka legit) - http://scifun.chem.wisc.edu/homeexpts/tarnish.html
They even give the fancy formula (I have no idea what this means, but I like the idea of having equations and such in my blog!
So chemistry...why did you not work for me!
Here are pic of the process (although, what is the point of looking, since it did not work!)
{Before}
{The supplies - thank god it was all free!}
{Action shot!}
{Chemistry - bubbles!}
{Hoping this magic would work}
{The after pic - which looks the same as the before pic = domestic fail}
So can someone just tell me who I can pay to fix this?
Here are specific instructions from a university chemisty deptartment (aka legit) - http://scifun.chem.wisc.edu/homeexpts/tarnish.html
They even give the fancy formula (I have no idea what this means, but I like the idea of having equations and such in my blog!
| 3 Ag2S | + | 2 Al |  | 6 Ag | + | Al2S3 |
| silver sulfide | aluminum | silver | aluminum sulfide |
So chemistry...why did you not work for me!
Here are pic of the process (although, what is the point of looking, since it did not work!)
{Before}
So can someone just tell me who I can pay to fix this?
5 comments:
Did you look for a silver polish from the store? I would look for something from Michael's/Lowe's. Or were you trying to be more earth-friendly?
Ugh, cleaning silver is the pits! My mom has a good process...line the sink with heavy duty aluminum foil. Add hot water and powdered spic and span and it is like magic before your eyes...it has to be sterling and not plate though!
Try Wright's silver polish! It is a creamy cleaner that is sold in a little blue and white tub at grocery stores. It's all my mom trusts on her family silver :) Good luck!!!!
Ditto to the other comments. There is something in that cream that gets to work on your silver- The cream + some scrubbing w/ a thick cloth is the best plan of attack.
Georgia, I am trying to use your mom's approach and the one my wife used to use with the Spic & Span. No luck so far. How much Spic & Span do you use per gallon of water? Maybe I am not adding enough. Help... Fredosnicleggyn
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