I'd also be interested in hearing conservators' comments on the baking
soda method.  From my experience, that seems to be the easiest way to
clean large items or large quantities of items.  For smaller pieces,
such as a tarnished ring, I've used toothpaste which could possibly
replace the below mentioned process since toothpaste is primarily made
up of calcium carbonate, and on top of that already in a paste-like
form.  Commercial toothpaste is of course made up of other substances
and I'd be interested to know how these would play a role.

Mai-Li
---
Will Garrison wrote:
>
> Cleaning silver.
> I'm not so sure about the baking soda method, but would be interested in
> conservators' comments.
> We use the following method (with credit to conservators Julie Reilly and
> Debbie Long):
> 1. Use cotton swabs and mineral spirits.  This will not only cut all the
> accumulated gunk from previous treatments with commercial products, but
> will remove a lot of the tarnish.  Use ventilation.
> 2.  Mix a slurry of calcium carbonate (precipitated chalk) and distilled
> water - to consistency of heavy cream.  With cotton swabs, clean a small
> area at a time.  Calcium carbonate is used to mix paints, so can be
> purchased at any good artists supply store.
> 3.  Wipe down with distilled water.
> 4.  As a drying agent, wipe down with denatured alcohol.
> 5.  As protective coating, use Renaissance Wax.  Buff thoroughly with old
> nylon stockings or similar.
> 6.  Enjoy.  It sounds like a wimp method, but really works well.  It