YT2095
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Registered: 31-5-2003
Location: Just left of Europe and down a bit.
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Silver cleaning
rather than have to buy a dedicated silver cleaner from the shop, I`m wondering if there`s some chemical(s) I can use instead, since I only need a
small amount and buying a bottle of cleaner would be a waste.
a Search shows that Thiourea is used in some, but I don`t have any.
I`d rather Not use dil nitric acid as the bracelet is Hollow and the small chain (in case it opens) is very thin.
I`m assuming that since it`s largely Oxide that`s discolored it, a reducing agent should be used, I have plenty Photography chems here, so maybe one
of those will work?
what I Don`t want it to make it any Worse, as the wife will kill me
any ideas?
\"In a world full of wonders mankind has managed to invent boredom\" - Death
Twinkies don\'t have a shelf life. They have a half-life! -Caine (a friend of mine)
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not_important
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Standard silver de-tarnishing trick is line a glass or ceramic pot with Al foil, drop silver onject on top of foil, add enough water to cover the
silver and then some, add NaHCO3 and heat to near boiling.
If the silver has 3D patterns that have been picked out by the tarnish, which a very common practice - the tarnish in the grooves or corners darkens
the silver enough to make the raised part of the pattern stand out - this cleaning method will remove that tarnish too, reducing the visibility of the
pattern until the tarnish reestablishes itself. Cleaner applied with a cloth have less effect on that 'hidden' tarnish because the cloth is not
effective at rubbing into the groves/corners.
I don't think it's oxide, more likely is sulfide.
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chemkid
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I have some scrap silver from a friend who made jewelry for a while. It is most likely sterling, so a copper silver mix. If would like to make a
solution of silver ions, preferably outside the presence of copper ions. This would be easy, if i had nitric acid. But...i don't. Any ideas on getting
the silver into solution. I read about a reaction between potassium permanganate and silver, but no specifics. Any help appreciated.
Chemkid
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pantone159
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Location: Austin, TX, USA
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| Quote: | Originally posted by YT2095
what I Don`t want it to make it any Worse, as the wife will kill me
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I wouldn't try nitric acid then. 
Try the Al foil / NaHCO3 procedure. It definitely makes some progress, and is not destructive - it recovers the previous Ag2S tarnish as Ag metal.
Polishing it still might help, the tarnish won't come out as shiny smooth metal.
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