Polishing Tips for Silver

[JP]

Polishing Tips for Silver

I just bought a Bach Deluxe Silver Polishing Cloth, and it has an inner yellow cloth stitched to an outer brown cloth. Anyone know why there are two cloths and how they are to be used? Any experience with this product? Thanks.

[fsung]

Polishing Tips for Silver

The inner cloth is treated with silver polish and tarnish inhibitor, and the outer cloth is a lint-free cloth for buffing.

[Euphason]

Maybe someone else can tell us technically/scientifically what happens when you polish. However, I believe it is a good idea if done properly.

If you use a polish with tarnish preventative you should not need to do it too often, so wear on the finish should not be a big factor. Between polishings you can probably use a damp cloth to clean it and another cloth to dry it.

There is a practical factor at work. If you leave it without polishing for a long time it will build up a very tough coating of tarnish. If you then need to make it look nice, it will take a lot of elbow grease, which I assume might be much harder on the finish than regular, gentle polishing.

I have never tried it, but there are little strips you can of silver, and they are supposed to "absorb" the tarnish that would otherwise attack you horn. They are made to be put into silverware cabinets, but I wonder if they would work if placed inside a horn case???

NOTE: this is all opinion! Anyone out there have some facts?

Bringing back this old thread. According to the composition sheet, the second ingredient of Hagerty silver polish is Celite, which is an abrasive.

Composition: http://www.hagerty.world/img/cms/JWA...es%20Clean.pdf

Celite: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatomaceous_earth

[LarryK]

I recently polished an old very tarnished silver euphonium, using Haggerty’s cream. It looked much better afterwards but several days later I am still finding lots of silver residue on my hands after playing. Will this eventually stop?

[davewerden]

I recently polished an old very tarnished silver euphonium, using Haggerty’s cream. It looked much better afterwards but several days later I am still finding lots of silver residue on my hands after playing. Will this eventually stop?

It'll take a while. What I used to do after polishing a silver horn (using the same polish you mention) is to wipe it down with a damp, soft cloth. That picks up the residue. The buff it a bit to dry it, using a clean, soft cloth. The shine seemed to get even better and my hands could stay clean when I played afterward.

[LarryK]

Thanks!