How can I clean tarnished silver?
95676
Use Toothpaste. Seriously, no joke, toothpaste works.
23052
I use ordinary dish soap and hot water.  If it is under your nails, a scrub brush can get that.
955607
polish silver--seriously!
1159691
Use any good silver or jewlery polish, and the oxidation will be gone. Bleach is mostly chlorine, which causes oxidation on silver. Toothpaste and an old toothbrush will also clean oxidation from silver, without being too abrasive. Lesson? Bleach and silver DO NOT MIX!
516687
Silver will have a marking somewhere.\n\nIf you see one, go here and find out the info about that marking: http://www.silvercollecting.com/\n\nSterling silver will have a marking that says .925 (Or something similar.)\n\nPlated silver will have a marking that says silver plated.\n\nHome made polish? Try hot sauce. No, I am serious. It works. If you don't believe me, take some hot sauce and dip an old penny in it.
836185
Bound's hubby here:\n\nThis is from over 30 years experience... DON'T put any type of chemical on your rifle's metal... you do not know how the chemical will react with the finish or the metal. \n\nThe time proven method of removing light rust from gun metal is to use OOO steel wool with gun oil. Put a light coat of oil on the rusted metal part and lightly rub the steel wool over the affected oiled area. Be patient, do not apply a lot of pressure. In about 10-15 minutes the rust will be removed and if the metal is blued there might be a slight lightening of the blued finish. Generally, lightening of the finish would mean either you rubbed too hard or you did not have enough oil on the metal. You can use the steel wool and oil method successfully without affecting your gun's finish. \n\nGood luck.
92122
A jewelers cloth or fine silver polish is best.  Cheap polishes and toothpaste will work, but they also leave very tiny scratches which will get water and dirt in them and cause the ring to tarnish again more quickly.
567188
Wow it is scary reading some of these answers... Take it to a reputable jeweler in your town and they will test it using  a touchstone and several different types of nitric acid to test. If this is done wrong you could ruin your piece of jewelry.... fire is certainly not your answer... gold meltsssssssssssss..most jewelers and I mean jewelers can tell just by looking, though sometimes even they need to test a piece...
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Articles from the HTPAA Quarterly Publication - Tool Chest  \n\nFeatured Article on Rust Removal\nPart 1 - Electrolysis\nHome  \nElectrolytic Removal of Rust \n\nby Kevin Chamberlain, Member HTPAA ( published in Tool Chest #63, February 2002) \n\nIntroduction \n\nAt our last Tool Conference, there was a Panel Discussion dealing with the cleaning and restoration of old hand tools. This is a key concern for anyone interested in collecting old tools, since one rarely finds tools in mint condition in an original box. It is much more common to find tools showing the combined effects of correct usage, abuse, neglect and simple ageing. The primary question is: should cleaning and/or restoration be attempted at all?\n\nThe answers are conflicting; some aim to restore the tool to a brand-new appearance, eliminating all evidence of its life history. Others think any attempt at restoration will destroy the character and value of an antique tool. \n\nMost think some intervention is desirable to remedy the effects of abuse and neglect, while still retraining as much patina and character as possible. There is an important caveat - "when in doubt, do nothing". Cleaning and restoration of antique tools should be done in a careful and meditative mood - otherwise rash actions may cause loss of valuable information and/or further damage. \n\nRemoval of rust from old tools or other artefacts may or may not be a desirable goal. In some cases (museum specimens) stabilization to prevent further deterioration may be all that is necessary. Rust may be regarded as undesirable by tool users or collectors because it obscures identifying marks, causes seizure of moving parts, creates an unpleasant rough texture to the touch, stains the hands and/or the workpiece, or is simply unsightly. I believe rust removal is often justified, but the method chosen should not alter the surface in other ways and should result in a reasonably attractive surface appearance.\n\nThe electrolytic method of rust removal meets these aims very well and is also a gentle, cheap and adaptable method. Electrolysis is now being used by a wide range of artefact restorers, from tool collectors to marine archaeologists. \n\nIn this article, I mainly aim to outline the practical aspects of the electrolytic method so that members can try it for themselves. Several HTPAA members have been using the method for some years and find it very useful\n\nWhat is Rust? \nRust arises from the surface oxidation of iron or steel in the presence of atmospheric oxygen and moisture. As the rust forms, the surface of the iron is eaten away, sometimes evenly, but often deep local pitting occurs beneath wart-like protuberances. Rust occupies more volume than the iron it replaces, and so moving parts will tend to seize as they rust. \nChemically, most red rust is hydrous ferric oxide FeO(OH). If water enters this chemical structure, yellow-brown limonite may form FeO(OH).nH2O. Quite often, black iron oxides are also present usually magnetite (Fe3O4), an iron oxide which both conducts electricity and can be magnetised. The rusting process, and the conditions which promote, inhibit or stabilise it, are all important topics which are beyond the limits of the present article. \n\nMethods of Rust Removal\nRust usually binds strongly to the underlying iron or steel. Various methods have been used to remove rust. Mechanical methods include the use of emery paper, sandpaper or wire brushes (either manual or powered). More aggressive methods include sand blasting or shot blasting. Plastic bead blasting is a more recent and gentler variant. Clearly these methods will scratch the metal surface if the abrasives are harder than the metal. Wire brushes, for example, do not appear to scratch hard steel surfaces but they can be quite damaging to soft iron surfaces. \n\nGas flames are sometimes used to dislodge rust, relying on the different expansion rates of the oxides and the metal in response to heat. Simple bo
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The result is Ag2S: Ag+ is monovalent, S2- is the sulphide ion.\n\nA solid silver surface will blacken (slowly) when exposed to material containing bound (negatively charged) sulphur atoms (such as the amino acid cystein and proteins containing it). Dissolved silver will precipitate.
726054
Hydrogen peroxide can oxidize copper metal on the surface of the penny by displacing it as copper(II) ions.  See link for detail explanation.
819097
Erm dont know if this will help at all, my wonderful fountain of knowledge (aka my wife) has suggested that you gently rub some baby oil on it, apparently it removes scratches from silver finishes and also cleans it, its certainly knowledge to me, but she normally surprises me with her vast amount random information.\nAlso nice and cheap, hope it works for you, and if it does please can you let me know.\n\nGood Luck
347109
you could put it in water and see if it tarnishes quickly?\n\ngold is relatively stable, and doesn't tarnish. you could also try to test it's electrical conductivity if you have an ohm-meter. gold conducts electricity very well. you may need more info to do this though.\n\ngood luck
29059
The method actually depends on what kind of jewellery your are trying to clean.\n\nAs an alternate to doing it at home, if the piece is basically metallic with gemstones, you can often just bring it to a reputable jeweller at your local shopping mall. They will gladly clean the item while you shop the mall, then pick it up when you return. They will usually place it in an ultrasonic bath, then steam-clean it and dry it when you return. They do this free because they hope you will consider them the next time you need to make a jewellery purchase. Be sure to ask if it is free though, because some do charge for this service.\n\nIf your piece of jewellery is more delicate, you have to take more care. Necklaces with silk or fibrous cords can not be subjected to harsh cleaners, and should be treated with care. Also, some gemstones are coated with a very fine oil that enhances the gem's beauty. Many cleaning techniques will remove this oil, and unless you replace the oil, your gemstone will appear dull and possibly worse than it did when you started. If you have expensive jewellery, you are advised to do some basic research on the cleaning methods for your exact gemstone (semi-precious or not).\n\nIf you have taken the above into consideration and still wish to clean your own jewellery, the easiest and safest method is to use simple dish-soap and a toothbrush. NEVER use toothpaste! Toothpaste has an abrasive compound in it that can actually scratch metals, and leave swirl-marks from your cleaning attempt! After brushing your jewellery piece with soap and toothbrush, rinse it well, then dry it completely. If the jewellery piece has a fibrous or silk rope holding it together, resist the temptation to immediately wear the jewellery. The cord will have absorbed water, and the weight of the piece (or the slight tension you may unknowingly place on it) will stretch the cord. When it dries it will then have spaces between your gemstones or pearls, which is not an attractive look, and there is no way to repair the damage.\n\nSimple silver and gold jewellery can also be cleaned with special cleaning cloths, available at most jewellery stores. They can also sell you special cleaning products for hard-to-remove stains, or hard-to-clean specialty pieces.\n\nGood luck with cleaning your jewellery!\n\nI have posted an expanded answer in the sources page below.
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Of course, it is a chemical reaction that causes ths to happen naturally.\n\nExpose the silver article to sulphur. SO2 would do the job most admiarably. Dipping it in egg yolk too - it is the sulphur that does the job.
314012
Use Acetone\n\n Nail Polish Remover
725476
put some gold bond powder down there.... hopefully it will not turn into some sort of paste