We design a lot of enamel pins here at Hand Over Your Fairy Cakes and a question we get asked frequently is "How do I clean my enamel pins?".
Most of our pins are silver plated which can become tarnished over time. This is a thin layer of corrosion undergone by the outermost layer of metal and it looks like darkening of the colour. This process can be delayed by keeping your pins clean and storing them in an air tight container, however it is difficult to completely prevent. If they do become tarnished, they are easy to clean!
As you can see from the picture, this Roller Skate Pin from our ‘90s Re-Collection collection has got some tarnishing of the plating. If the tarnishing is mild, sometimes just rubbing the pin with your fingers will sort it out, as the oil from your fingers can remove the tarnished layer.
If the tarnishing is heavier, then you can use silver polish and a soft cotton cloth to clean your pin. I picked up a special jewellers cloth impregnated with silver polish to clean mine: it cost about £3.50 and it works really well! It probably costs less than buying a whole tin of silver polish and lasts for ages.
Next you just rub the pin with the cloth until the tarnished areas are removed. You can take the tarnish off the back too, but I never do this as no one sees it except me!
It looks like new again! See? Super easy!
You can see all the black marks on the cloth in this picture: remember to wash your hands afterwards to make sure you don't get polish and black marks all over the place. Told you it was straightforward! Do you clean yours like this or do you use a different method?
If you'd like to take a look at our enamel pins, you can see the whole collection here!
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