Cleaning Sterling Silver: Removing Patina Without Damage - Expert Guide

Question
How do I clean some old sterling silver pieces from a church (mostly chalices) with removing the patina?

Answer
Hello Kathy and thank you for your inquiry. There are many ways to clean silver and all cleaning methods would involve removing the patina and I have included a link below you might find useful. Just copy and paste the below url into your browser address field and hit enter.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patina

The best information on cleaning silver is the following website:

http://www.silversmithing.com/care.htm#Cleaning%20Silver

After you clean your items you might want to consider purchasing some of the anti-tarnish tabs that you can use when storing your items. They will allow the natural development of patina while protecting against the heavier tarnish.

Hope this helps and good luck !