| Search our quarter-million Q&As |
Home of the finishing HOTLINE since 1989
-----Antique Silver Plated Horse has suffered disaster
Please forgive me for this question, but this seems to be the most closely related website we could find. Perhaps you could shed some light on a small home disaster. We have what appears to be an antique silver plated horse, approx. 12" long and 12" high weighing about 4 lbs. The silver plate is over a base metal, probably a pot metal of some sort. It is hollow and sealed/airtight. It was stored in a cold garage and we brought it inside to clean/polish to give as a birthday present to a young girl. The horse figure was relatively cold to the touch. I started to try to polish it with Goddards Silver Dip ⇦ on eBay or Amazon [affil link] , with marginal results. I then tried Wrights Brass Polish ⇦ on eBay or Amazon [affil link] , containing ammonia. It appeared to be working. I put the horse under the water faucet; the water was warm from just being used. I quickly adjusted the temperature to cold water, but noticed that the horse started to draw inward and collapse. Now this highly detailed antique is deformed.
HELP! Was this due to extreme temperature change from cold to c warm? Due to chemicals? BOth? Can it be reversed by putting in a freezer or something else? Please, please advise. Perhaps someone can advise. Please call at work tomorrow a.m..
Matthew T [last name deleted for privacy by Editor]Army - Washington DC
1999
Sorry to hear about this disappointment. I can't imagine that the chemicals had anything to do with the mechanical deformation though. I don't fully understand why heating the horse up caused the deformation, but I guess that most of the metal was cold; when a bit of it got hot and wanted to expand, it had nowhere to go to relieve the stress but inward.
I doubt that just allowing the metal to reach room temperature will correct the deformation, but maybe heating it will. Of course, that isn't safe to do as long as the item is sealed. You might drill a hole in an inconspicuous place and blow it up with a tire pump? Of course, you'd need to enclose it in a strong bag in case it turns to shrapnel. I'm afraid my ideas might lead to more damage, rather than repair, but I don't have any good ideas.
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
Need quick confidential answers? $25
Need project assistance? $100/hr.
HI: I suspect it was the temperature change also-the inside was very cold and outside only briefly hot. (It was as if the horse slowly collapsed in areas near it's shoulders.) I almost tried putting it in the oven warm, but decided against it. My concern is getting it hot enough to reform easily but not melt or ......
Well Thanks for your input and help..
Matthew T [last name deleted for privacy by Editor]Army - Washington DC
Sorry! Finishing.com is temporarily Read-Only.
Please maintain your bookmarks! Although Ted Mooney is retiring, finishing.com is not!
It will have a new owner/curator very shortly!