Managing Tarnish On Sterling Silver Pens

[edwardt]

Although the pen I have in mind is a Montblanc Gaius Maecenas, the issue of sterling silver tarnishing should be no different on other pens and makes - hence I did not post this on the dedicated MB forum.

 

To those who own sterling silver pens, how do you manage the sterling silver? Do you leave it to tarnish, seal it in a bag with anti-tarnish paper, or just use it and let nature take its course?

 

I have the Gaius coming in the mail and plan on putting it on rotation for a week every 6 - 8 weeks. I've seen some photos of the pen looking quite tarnished and whilst it sort of matches the age of the pen's theme, I'm undecided if that's the look I was to keep the pen in.

 

Thoughts and opinions appreciated.

 

Cheers.

[dadbar]

I use Mothers Mag and Chrome polish from the Auto Parts Store on my sterling silver pens....along with a soft toothbrush.

[jar]

I have a few Sterling silver pens but I avoid all pastes, gels and liquids or anything that suggests you wear gloves with my Sterling silver pens. I do use one of the Sterling silver polishing cloths that come with such pens when I feel it needs it. I allow the pen to go ahead and tarnish when not in use.

[Cordovian]

I use Jewelry wipes. No paste/liquid, not too harsh, minimal mess and work great.

http://connoisseurs.com/images/products/jewelry_wipes.png

Edited November 3, 2016 by Cordovian

[zaddick]

Thr pen with come with an MB silver polish cloth (if new). I use them on my silver pens when I feel the need to shine them up.

[Freddy]

For your consideration..use if needed polishing cloth that came with

said pen and Sunshine polishing cloth or similar. I will not use any polishing compound

whatsoever on me pens.... however....will use it on me motorcycles.

For Example.....If one used silver polishing paste on a Parker 75....it would ruin the finish....

can also remove Au plating toots sweet.... et al.............................

 

Play it safe use the cloth and perhaps Anti-Tarnish Jewelry Strips

to keep your pen{s} lookin' tarnish free...................................................

 

Fred

Edited November 3, 2016 by Freddy

[Flounder]

In addition to agreeing that an occassional pass with the cloths makes less mess and is less likely to wear fine detailing, I'd also like to add that you can buy very small anti-tarnish silver polishing cloths (8x8cm!).

 

They take up very little space in your pen-fettling drawer/box/whatever, are very inexpensive, and last forever if kept in their envelope-thing, inside a plastic ziplock bag.

 

ps - I've found my rolled-silver caps don't tarnish if the pen is long forgotten inside a sealed tube!

 

http://i773.photobucket.com/albums/yy19/flounder2009/FMT%20Hard%20-%20Soft%20Parker%2051%20Pen%20Tubes/FMT%20Pen%20Tubes%20jewel%20foam-silk.jpg

[Wolverine1]

I have had good luck using the anti-tarnish cloth that the local jeweller ( who is also on FPN) gave me. He had seem me post a question about my silver Parker pens tarnishing, and so he emailed me back-channel, told me to stop by his shop. He gave me a anti-tarnish cloth. I have used it with success for the past 7 or 8 years.

[praxim]

The best protection against tarnish is use. You can use your fingers to rub your pen.

 

Otherwise, a cloth as said many times above. I have used a very fine paste to improve inherited silver, not pens, but normally or after that then a cloth suffices if your use is infrequent.

[Bo Bo Olson]

I like my sterling silver or other silver overlay pens more a battleship gray patina rather than "is that Chrome???"

 

If your P-75 tarnishes too much you can clean it with any silver polish cloth....and let it re-tarnish after a couple of months it will be back to gray silver

. It really don't look all that good real shinny with all the lines free of tarnish....and I can't polish it only so that the squares are polished and not the lines.

 

If the pen is not really 'dark' gray to going black....your own hands can keep your silver pen that patina gray, just by rubbing it with your fingers once or twice every time you use it.

 

 

If you want 'Is that Pen Chrome' well then you got to polish often it with your silver cloth.

[edwardt]

Thanks for all your replies.

 

Whilst the tarnish can add to the charm of the pen, I tend to prefer to maintain the original shiny finish. However, it seems that this requires storing the pen sealed with anti tarnish strips. It's a shame that this solution hides the beauty of a nice pen behind a sealed tube or plastic bag.

[ethernautrix]

I use toothpaste and my fingers to polish my sterling pens. It works.

[PaulS]

have to say that I too can't really see the need to worry if there's a little discolouration.............. obviously if they're going black fairly quickly you have a problem - but agree that making them shine like chrome isn't perhaps the best of appearances, and they will discolour again anyway.

I'm not a chemist, but might suggest a word of caution regarding the repeated use of fingers - especially using tooth paste - to clean silver. Am sure that eating a Club Biscuit without washing fingers might not be a good idea - can't imagine that silver oxide is the best of diets

[SpecTP]

I use P21S Multi-Surface Finish Restorer. Works great every time.

[ehemem]

I use toothpaste and my fingers to polish my sterling pens. It works.

 

Yup, I've done this too...Not too often, though...

[Chrissy]

My Montblanc silver pen came with a Montblanc silver cloth, so that's what I use on my silver pens.

[RonLyke]

+1 for the Sunshine Cloth. I got a very badly tarnished Parker 75 cisele, and with some patience, the tarnish was removed and left a nice finish without removing the black in the undercut lines.

[PaulS]

so I guess no one will like these then - can't remember the last time I cleaned them, but not for some time and they don't appear to have fared badly at all - in fact I'm a big fan of patina as it gives the appearance of a little age, despite these being modern pens.

 

Having looked in Andreas Lambrou's book 'Fountain Pens of U.S. & U.K.', there is an Imperial with same 'Fishnet' surface pattern as in the attached pic., and described as having 'black lacquer' finish - so maybe some design thoughts there of giving the appearance of a ready made simulated oxidized surface with the added benefit that this coating will save cleaning and prevent further tarnishing.

 

On the aspect of how to clean, common sense would dictate that rubbing is done with a non-flexible material - the danger could well be that excessive cleaning of these lattice-work patterns could remove the black within the lines over a period of time.

Since I don't use these particular pens, it's very unlikely they will ever need more than a very rare mild clean.

Edited November 8, 2016 by PaulS

[Bo Bo Olson]

The early P-75 had more permanent lines, the younger ones were made cheaper with out that line darkener, to darken 'naturally'.....from my reading.

 

I do take a cloth to my silver pens if they get as dark as the bottoms....if I do it lightly they will get back to 'normal' with in a month or so.

 

I had used some English silver cleaner glove and got the silver a bit cleaner than wished....in I wanted the black lines of tarnish to stay.

 

Having just pulled my P-75 out of the cup....found parts were more tarnished than I wished. Being lazy I took the first polishing cloth to hand.....one for Gold...it did a decent job, and kept the black lines I wanted. But there were bits of tarnish that were too stubborn for a gold cloth. So I got up and got the Silver one....expecting it to wipe my tarnish lines away.......It Didn't!!!!!

 

The P-75 is looking spiffy again. I'm sure I could have taken much longer and gotten 'Chrome' or found something else we have floating around to do silver.....It has a gleam, still has some of the 'gun metal' gray but is no longer 'dull'.

 

There I had that stuff laying around for ages....and didn't use it because I thought it would 'Chrome' my pen like the English silver polishing glove did.

Got to go online and attempt to find that Glove....it did wonders in the Chrome direction.

 

For good gold and silver polish cloths.

Optiwisch

made by Kornbush & Staring GmbH & Co. KG

Gelsenkirchners Str 11

Borken Germany

Makes gold and silver cloths.

 

 

Just polished and it did need it.......

Overlay 900 silver Barley corn Pfortsheim '30's...late '40's piston pen...(one of three I have each with slightly different 'barley corn' patterns.); Herlitz semi-flex gold plated #2 or 1 1/2 nib. I don't know if the body is Luxor in I've seen that fishbone pattern on Luxor pens or if it was originally a Herlitz pen. A pen I know next to nothing about, outside it was made in Heidelberg....and I've walked by the old factory.

The nib is much better than the other Herlitz nibs I have.

It gleamed up nicely. With that barley corn, I wouldn't mind Chrome and let it revert back a bit. (So I'm going to look on the net for that English polish glove.

Barley corn IMO is different than the P-75's Cisele with it's black squares....so can be 'chromed' better with out loss of style and will mute down nicely over a week or two.

 

Some day I'll load my camera.....been saying that for a couple of years.

[PaulS]

how about coating our Sterling examples with some clear shellac - might that be a permanent solution against tarnishing, that's provided of course that shellac isn't harmful to Silver.............. I don't think I'm being serious - am sure if it had been o.k. then someone would have already recommended it.