Last month I snagged the opportunity to purchase a silverplate buckle off a friend in a Facebook de-stash group.
Now, you may know I’ve been obsessed with dirndls since early 2018. And in my current research I keep seeing aprons closed (either in front or back) with a silver buckle. The ties are still there, but buckles seem to be quite common, too.
So when my friend posted this “Art Deco” buckle for sale I jumped on it. You know… because I didn’t have to order from Germany. Yipee!
It’s been pointed out to me – by those from Bavaria and Austria – that buckles sold for Trachten and dirndls have been purposely tarnished to show off the metal pattern.
Yes, I know that, but, I wanted a clean, silver buckle. Plus, if you look at the photo of what my buckle looked like before cleaning, the tarnish is not even and has therefore been aged with time rather than being manufactured with even tarnish.
So it arrived – beautiful! – but in need of some polishing TLC.
I pulled out my Tarn-x and some strips of muslin with an old toothbrush and got to work.
And worked. And scrubbed.
“Wait!” Isn’t there some sort of magic tarnish remover solution using tin foil? (aka aluminum foil). Yes! To Pinterest I went and found a couple recipes but ultimately used this one with some slight variation (no vinegar or salt).
I had actually used this technique a couple years ago and was *amazed* by the quick results. That’s probably why my brain pulled up the memory and I went searching to apply the same to my buckle.
I used a small crock dish and placed a strip of foil on the bottom and sides. Added the baking soda then the hot water. Finally the buckle went in and I let it sit.
The first couple rounds I took out the buckle and started brushing it but the tarnish was still fairly stuck. So I made a new soda/water mixture and tried again – this time letting the buckle sit for several minutes.
Then the magic… I used the toothbrush and was able to easily brush the tarnish (black flakes) away. Some of the tighter corners of the design took a bit more soaking and brushing.
The last step was to polish it with the muslin to remove even more of the black tarnish.
I’m so pleased with the results and my new shiny buckle. It’s now all ready for a new dirndl apron!
I use this technique quite a lot on all my silver – from jewellery to large trays. I have never used a toothbrush, finding a slight buff with a microfibre cloth works a treat. However, sometimes I do need to add more bicarbonate of soda, and boiling, no just hot, water. I know when it is working by the rotten egg smell. After polishing, remember to wrap the piece in acid free tissue paper, and store it with some of those gel bags which absorb moisture so it won’t tarnish again.
It’s such an amazing technique! I’ve done it on some silver serving pieces and they came out lovely with minimal polishing with a cloth.
It’s just beautiful!