How to Remove Scratches From Silver

Although you want to keep your silver nice, you also want to use your silver utensils and jewelry. Silver is a very soft metal, so scratches can occur. If you want to make your silver look like new again, begin with polishing and cleaning.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Prevent scratches by cleaning your silver often. If you already have scratches in the silver, clean it before you do anything else so that any dirt in the scratches will be removed.

2. Understand there is no real way to get scratches out of silver. However, polishing your silver will make the scratch less noticeable. Polish your silver with a specific polish made for silver surfaces, especially if it is an antique.

3. Choose alternative polishing materials. If you do not want to purchase silver polish, use common household products such as baking soda or toothpaste to polish the scratch. The toothpaste must be a paste, not gel, and not have any whitening options. The baking soda should be mixed with hot water. Be careful with fumes—they will be present with this option.

4. Store the silver. If you want to prevent more scratches in the future, invest in a case or some other type of storage to keep your silver in. All pieces should be completely dry before being stored. Wrap the silver in flannel or tissue paper before placing it in the storage container.

[Tfurby]

on 12/26/2008 Good tips!