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Letter 34014
Cleaning tarnished gold-plated metal on an
antique banjo [No. Carolina]
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I have just purchased a 1923 banjo, whereby the gold plating is
tarnished. Do you have a recommendation on how best to clean it
without causing any damage.
My sincere appreciation for any thoughts/comments/suggestions you
may have!!!
Thank you,
Kris M [name deleted for privacy]
Retail Sales - Sanford, NC, USA
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+++++
Pure gold doesn't tarnish, Kris, so what you are probably
looking at is the gold has gotten thin in spots. Whatever
cleaner or polish you use will not be working on the gold,
it will be working on the underlying metal through the
porosity in the gold plate. Gold plating is very thin, so I
would recommend a non-abrasive cleaner or you'll expose more
of the underlayment.
The ideal thing to do is to have those components gold
plated again by a plating shop. If that isn't practical you
can try the Medallion Gold Plating System, which is an
immersion gold plating paste for home use, although I
haven't personally used it and can 't attest to how
effective it is. If you do decide to try it, please get back
to us with your assessment of how useful it was.
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Ted Mooney, P.E.
finishing.com
Brick, NJ
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