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 also
avoids the use of ammonia, which is the main ingredient in commercial
cleaners.  Conservators have tried to explain the physics of how ammonia
breaks down the silver at the molecular level, but I basically agreed to
just take their word for it.
Will Garrison, Collections Manager
Historic Deerfield, Inc.
Deerfield, Massachusetts

At 08:21 AM 5/7/98 +1000, you wrote:
>        Wayne & Mary asked:
>> We have a number of tarnished silver and silver plated
>> artifacts in our museum.  We would like to clean them up
>> for a better appearance.  What are the best ways to do this
>> without putting wear on the artifacts?  Is there anything
>> that we can do to prevent future tarnishing?

>There are some proprietary materials available but essentially they work
>as follows.
>Place the silver object in an old aluminium saucepan full of warm water
>containing a good pinch of baking soda.If you have not got such a
>saucepan then a wad of aluminium foil in the bottom of a stainless steel
>one works just as well.
>An electrochemical reaction converts the bulk of the tarnish back to
>silver again rather than removing it as would happen with any type of