On Sunday 1 Dec M.Jones asked:

>In another vein, we have an old silverplate communion set and wondered
>about the best way to clean and maintain it.


It's always difficult to give advice about conserving things without seeing
them. Avoid polishing silver - you'll only wear off the silverplate. If you
feel that you have to polish it, then use a silver polish rather than
Brasso etc, which is more abrasive. If it is tarnished, them you can remove
the tarnish with a commercial silver dip. Follow the instructions
carefully! Most commercial silver dips contain phosphoric acid & a
corrosion inhibitor such as thiourea, and about 90% water. The acid can
burn you, and the inhibitors are usually toxic and/or carcinogenic. Always
wear gloves & rinse the silver thoroughly with clean water after using
silver dip. The cleaned silver should not be handled with bare hands, and
ideally you should coat it with an inhibited lacquer, such as INCRALAC to
reduce the amount of tarnishinbg in the future. Silver should be stored
away from sulphur bearing atmospheres. There are several types of "silver
bags" on the market which are specifically made for storing silver in.

Hope this helps.

George Bailey
Objects Conservator
Australian War Memorial
Treloar Centre for Conservation
4 Callan St, Mitchell, A.C.T. 2911
Australia
Phone: +61 6 241 6122
fax:   +61 6 241 7998
email: [log in to unmask]