What is the best and safest way to polish badly tarnished sterling silver flatware?
I prefer to hand polish with paste silver polish. I like the way the pieces look when I polish them this way and I like that there’s a little bit of tarnish protection, because that might lengthen the time before I have to do all that work again! I’ve always used Hagerty’s and it seems to do a good job, other people swear by Wright’s. Hagarty also makes silversmith’s gloves, which are great for large pieces, like teapots. You just put them on and rub with your whole hand. There are detailed instructions for how to polish smaller items with silver polish here. I’ve also used the tin foil and baking soda method described here. It does work and, in fact, the results are quite amazing if you have a badly tarnished piece. But you don’t get the kind of shine you get with a good polish. You
