Does anyone know of a quick and easy way to shine sterling candle sticks?
Beth
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squirt toothpaste on the silver.Leave for a few minutes. Wash off. If it is an intricate pattern you can scrub the toothpaste in - with the toothbrush of course. If it's still not enough repeat and leave the toothpaste for longer
'Avon' sells a cloth that removes the black from Sterling Silver. It works great on my earrings, so it should work on your candle sticks.
Line a pan with aluminum foil and pour ammonia over this to whatever depth you need to cover your candle sticks. Place the candle sticks in the pan and watch the black disappear! Wash and buff dry when the black's gone. This works with jewelry, silverware, etc. I usually do it all at once and save on the cost of the ammonia, though it's not real expensive.
While the advice above does work, there are several problems. 1) Avoid ammonia-based dips as they will eventually eat away the finish of the metal, and 2) Never use toothpaste as it is very abrasive. If your candel sticks are precious to you or used only on special occasions, keeping them in plastic bags (wrapped in a non-cotton cloth) will prevent oxidization.
The one constant that I have found with homemade cleaners is that they use dish soap. If you don't have the items listed below for some reason, just the soap should be enough, though allow for a time difference.
Ingredients:
* &frac; cup baking soda
* &frac; cup salt
* &frac; cup liquid dish soap
* &frac; gallon of water
Take a large pot, such as a spaghetti pot, and line the inside with aluminum foil. Pour all of the ingredients into the pot and stir with a plastic spoon. Place them into the solution. Bring this to a low boil for a few minutes. Then turn off the burner and let it sit for another couple of minutes.* Ingredients: &frac; cup baking soda
* &frac; cup salt
* &frac; cup liquid dish soap
* &frac; gallon of water
Take a large pot, such as a spaghetti pot, and line the inside with aluminum foil. Pour all of the ingredients into the pot and stir with your plastic spoon. Place them into the solution. Bring this to a low boil for a few minutes. Then turn off the burner and let it sit for another couple of minutes. The aluminum foil will be dirty because of the oxides on your candle sticks were transferred to it.
All these methods are so time consuming. We have been using Silvermate liquid silver cleaner for many years in my restaurants and it cleans and polishes silver in less thank 30 seconds WITHOUT hurting your silver. Its 96% water and leaves no residue. Some of these other methods definately will scratch silver or remove it from your items. Just look www.silvermatecompany.com as decide for yourself
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