How to Clean Silver

Richard Sisson: Hi! I am Richard Sisson with Chevy Chase Plating & Polishing located in Rockville, Maryland. Today, we are going to tell you about silver and we will show you how to maintain it and clean and polish it. There is a beauty in silver that can't be surpassed and thats why we think it is important to have your silver look beautiful. In this video series, we are going to explain the difference between sterling silver and silver plate. We are going to explain the different types of polishes that are available and we are going to demonstrate the hand polishing to you. We are going to also explain how to maintain your silver. Some of the products you may need to polish your silver are silver polish, in two forms, liquid and a high quality paste polish. Wenol, high quality paste polish in the two, excellent for polishing small items like silver flatware. And Nevr-Dull, which is a chemically treated cotton wadding mostly used for brass and copper, however, great again for removing those heavy tarnish on silver. We use a horsehair silver polishing brush. However, a toothbrush will pretty much do the same job. And there is also a liquid silver cleaner here, which is comparable to the Tarnex product which is good for removing tarnish. And polishing cloths, we will be using pieces of an old cotton T-shirt for polishing and buffing. And polishing gloves, when using these supplies and chemicals, its a good idea to use disposable gloves to protect your hands. Sometimes, people will take an abrasive pad to try to clean silver that is an ultimate no-no. Silver has to be lovingly polished to a lasting beauty. You would never want to take any abrasives or scaling powder or anything of that nature to silver. Before starting I would like to tell you a little bit about myself. I have been in decorative metal restoration business for 23 years solving all aspects of the business including plating, polishing, lacquering and repairs. Here at Chevy Chase Plating & Polishing we are professional silver polishers and almost always perform that task by a buffing machine and compounds. However, you can receive almost as good results by carefully hand polishing your silver. So, let's get started.