posted 01-12-2011 12:34 PM            

I have a Gorham tête-à-tête or bachelor's plate tea set with a reeded design. There is old dried polish in the grooves. What is the best way to remove the dried polish? I looked through other cleaning posts, but did not find my particular dilemma.

Thanks! Kelly

posted 01-12-2011 01:10 PM            

A handy tool is an old very soft bristle toothbrush. I have one in the cupboard that I use for just this sort of problem. Just brush it -- dry -- over the area and it should remove most, if not all, of it.

posted 01-12-2011 07:46 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by nautilusjv:
Thanks Elizabeth. I have a horsehair silver brush, so I will try that.

Kelly

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Kelly,
I am not very familiar with horsehair other than as a stuffing on Victorian furniture. Is it a soft bristle? The beauty of the toothbrush is that it is soft so won't scratch the silver, and it is small, so it is easy to fit into small parts of the piece.

posted 01-12-2011 11:27 PM            

Here is the set cleaned, but still with gunk caught in the grooves. Lovely monogram GRW, gold washed interiors, date mark for 1891.

posted 01-13-2011 07:41 AM            

The best way to clean dried polish paste, remaining polish paste in the edges and gilded surfaces is: bathroom tiles cleaner (I don´t know the brand name in your country). Spray it, wait some minutes and with the help of a s o f t toothbrush and warm water you get top results! I use it since years on my best silver! Gilded surfaces are very difficult to polish without loss of the thin layer - use only the tile cleaner and your gold is shiny again.

I know it sounds strange - if you have doubts try it on a worthless object - you will be very surprised!

Regards
Postnikov