Things You'll Need
Abrasive cleaning pad, mild
Buffing compound
When gold plating becomes scratched, worn or you just want to change the look of your jewelry, you can remove the gold plating from silver. Since gold is electroplated or electrically bonded to silver, there are no chemicals or solvents that will readily remove gold plating. Jewelers will use powerful, professional acid baths to dissolve the gold plating, and if the gold plating on your silver jewelry does not readily come off with the method described, a jeweler will be your best option for gold plating removal.
Step 1
Pick up your mildly abrasive cleaning pad--dishwashing pads work well for this--and dab a bit of buffing compound onto a corner.
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Step 2
Rub the pad with the compound firmly over the gold-plated silver. As you rub over the plating, the gold will be sanded off, and the bright silver will begin to show.
Step 3
Continue rubbing with the pad with the buffing compound onto the gold-plated item until all of the gold has been removed, This may take some time and a little elbow grease, but the gold will come off.
Tip
Once the gold is off the, buff out the silver with some jewelers rouge and silver polish on a soft cloth. This will remove any scratches from the abrasive pad, and will make the silver beneath the gold plating, shine.
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