Jewelry made from gold-plated silver looks no worse than items made from pure gold, but is much cheaper. Such purchases do not break the budget, so many girls choose them. But over time, the shine of the gilding inevitably fades, and sometimes an unpleasant dark coating appears. When cleaning gilding, special care is required, because it is very easy to damage a thin layer of precious metal, and as a result, the item will hopelessly lose its presentable appearance.
Why does the gilding darken?
Unlike pure gold, which can lie in the ground for centuries without losing its shine, a dark coating forms on the surface of gold-plated products over time. From a chemical point of view, it is a film of silver compounds that, as a result of diffusion, penetrated through a thin layer of gold and reacted with oxidizing agents present in the external environment.
The formation of a greenish dark coating allows us to determine that the jewelry is only gilded and not made of solid gold. Therefore, when purchasing gold products, it is recommended to check their authenticity using hydrochloric acid and other active reagents. Owners of gold-plated items are forced to constantly struggle with the treacherous coating of oxides, which periodically forms on the surface of the metal and gives exquisite, although inexpensive, products the appearance of cheap jewelry.
Rules for caring for gold-plated products
In order to avoid darkening or abrasion of the gold plating layer, you need to carefully care for costume jewelry and other items.
- Gold-plated jewelry should be removed before showering, starting household chores, and before applying cosmetics (creams, perfumes, scrubs).
- It is not recommended to take such products with you on vacation at sea. Salt water has a detrimental effect on gilding, and therefore, if parting with your favorite jewelry seems impossible, then it must be removed before bathing.
- Store gold-plated jewelry, spoons and other cutlery, best in a closed box or special box, as far as possible from sunlight and heating appliances. This will protect both the gilding itself and some types of precious stones from the harmful effects of ultraviolet radiation and will help preserve their original appearance for as long as possible.
Products should be cleaned regularly, without waiting for darkening or plaque to form on the gold plating.
We recommend reading: How to clean gold items at home.
photo: depositphotos.com/photographee.eu
Features of cleaning gold-plated jewelry
When starting to process gold-plated metal, you should remember: the gold layer is very thin, careless actions can easily destroy it. Silver or other metal peeking out from under the gilding will give the jewelry an unkempt appearance, and it will no longer be possible to wear it.
In addition, gold is a very soft metal, and each touch to the surface makes the layer of gold thinner. The more often you wear such a product, the faster it will wear out. If you clean it in the same way as gold or silver jewelry, i.e. using a special jewelry paste, the wear rate of gold plating will increase several times.
To remove dirt and oxides from the surface and restore smoothness and shine, you can use only the most gentle methods that exclude mechanical or chemical damage.
Why does gold-plated silver turn black?
Silver is an elastic metal, so in its pure form it is not used in production. For strength, various impurities are added to it, and most often this is copper. This is what causes the darkening of silver items.
When silver jewelry is constantly worn, the copper in the alloy reacts with oxidation with human sweat, which leads to tarnishing of the metal and the appearance of dark spots on it. Therefore, when doing hard physical work or sports, you should not be surprised why the gold-plated jewelry has lost its former shine and turned black.
Is it possible to wet silver?
If owners of gold-plated silver have to frequently clean items that they don’t even use, this indicates high humidity in the room, and the metal does not like interacting with water. Therefore, when cleaning, washing, washing dishes, taking a shower or bath, it is better to remove your jewelry.
In addition, silver objects do not like to interact for a long time with detergents and cosmetics, food and medicine.
Steps for cleaning gold-plated surfaces
In order not to damage the thin gold coating, cleaning from dirt and blackness is carried out in three stages.
- Preparation. Fat film, dust and accumulated organic contaminants are removed from the surface. This step is especially important for jewelry that directly touches the skin.
- Cleaning. Gold-plated items are treated to remove dark deposits and restore the color of gold.
- Polishing. After washing and drying, the gold-plated surface is gently polished with a soft chamois leather to smooth out microscopic scratches and restore its radiant shine.
When choosing a cleaning method, the type of metal on which gold is applied does not matter.
Ways to preserve gold plating
Unfortunately, gold plating wears off over time. Constant contact with various surfaces: body, sweat, water, soap, dirt has a very adverse effect on the condition and appearance of jewelry. Simple rules help extend the life of gold-plated products.
- Wipe jewelry and cutlery with chamois whenever they become dirty.
- Protect them from exposure to water, perfume, and various creams.
- Store gold-plated items so that they do not touch each other. Wrap the jewelry in suede cloth, and put the cutlery in special cases.
Cleaning from dirt and grease
To remove greasy deposits and dirt, you can use the following methods.
- Prepare a soap solution from 0.5 liters of warm water and a teaspoon of liquid soap. Dip the jewelry into the water and leave for 2-3 hours. After soaking, gently brush with a soft toothbrush or flannel cloth, rinse and dry.
- Moisten a piece of cotton flannel with alcohol and lightly wipe the product. Treat small parts with the tip of a toothpick.
- Dry cleaning is only suitable for items with a fairly smooth surface - cutlery, dishes, etc. Gently wipe the surface with a soft chamois cloth.
What to do before cleaning
Cutlery and jewelry plated with gold should be cleaned regularly. To start, you should prepare the product:
- First you need to clean the surface from dust and other contaminants using a soft cloth (cotton pad) soaked in turpentine or alcohol.
- Table vinegar is also useful for gold-plated silver. You will need 2 tablespoons per liter of water. If you leave the products in the solution for 15-20 minutes, this will help clean them from darkening and greenery.
Or you can do without soaking and simply wipe off the stains with a sponge dipped in a more concentrated solution (2 tablespoons per glass of water). In both cases, after the procedure, you need to wipe the products dry with a suede cloth.
It is important to remember that when cleaning gold-plated objects, you should absolutely not use such products as: hard sponges and brushes, dry powders, aggressive acids. Otherwise, scratches will form on the gold plating or the coating may peel off altogether.
Cleaning from dark plaque
- Grind half a raw onion into a pulp, cover the decoration with the mixture, and leave for an hour and a half. Wash in running water, dry with a soft cloth.
- Pour beer into a bowl, immerse gold-plated items in the liquid, leave for half an hour, then rinse with water and dry.
- Break an egg into a cup, separate the white, beat lightly and apply to the gold plate. After 5-10 minutes, rinse in running water, blot off any remaining moisture with a napkin.
- Dilute five drops of ammonia in a liter of water at room temperature. Immerse gold-plated items in water, leave for no more than half an hour, then rinse thoroughly under running water.
How to clean gold-plated silver items
Means for cleaning gold-plated items from dust, grease and dirt should be soft and not damage the thin top layer.
Removing dust and dirt from spoons
You can wash gold-plated cutlery with improvised means. Suede, alcohol or vinegar are best suited for this purpose.
- Suede fabric is used for minor stains. Wipe the cutlery with it until the dirt and dust completely disappear;
- alcohol. Clean the spoons with a cotton swab pre-moistened with alcohol. Use a toothpick in hard-to-reach places. After treatment, wipe the surface with suede;
- vinegar is used if the appliances have acquired a greenish tint. Immerse dirty spoons in the solution (2 tablespoons of vinegar per 1 liter of water) and leave for a quarter of an hour. You can simply wipe with a sponge moistened with a vinegar solution (2 tablespoons per 250 ml of water). Take it out, rinse with water, wipe dry and polish with suede.
Clean items using gentle, gentle movements. Any strong pressure can wear off the gold plating.
Cleaning gold-plated jewelry and watches from black spots
Beer, egg whites, and onions are considered the most effective for removing blackness from gilding. Aqueous solutions with soap and ammonia or a mild detergent also work well to remove dark stains.
- Fill the container with beer, put the decorations in there and leave for half an hour. Then rinse with water and dry.
- Dip a cotton swab in egg white, treat the surface, wash off any remaining white and dry.
- Rub the gold plated item with onion. Wait 60–90 minutes. Rinse with water, dry and polish.
- Dilute a teaspoon of mild detergent and six drops of ammonia in 1 liter of warm water. Immerse gold-plated jewelry in the solution for 30 minutes. Keep track of the time! With longer exposure, the gilding may come off. Remove, rinse with water and leave to dry.
- Add a mild detergent to warm water (when cleaning items with stones, it is better to use regular shampoo). Soak the jewelry in the resulting foam for half an hour, then brush with a soft bristle brush and rinse.
After using any product, polish your jewelry with a piece of suede to make it shiny.
Home remedies for cleaning cupronickel and gold-plated silver - gallery
Beer is good at removing dark deposits from gold plating.
Rub gilded cupronickel cutlery with onions - they will become clean and shiny
Egg white gently cleans jewelry without scratching the gold plate
A solution of ammonia and detergent removes stubborn stains on gold-plated items
The shampoo is suitable for cleaning gold-plated jewelry with stones
Little tricks
- Be careful when cleaning jewelry with stones. By wiping the product or immersing it in the solution, you can accidentally damage the fastening of the stone.
- The clasp on many gold-plated chains is made of ordinary metal, which rusts when in contact with water. Therefore, it is recommended not to immerse them in the solution, but to wipe them.
- Special pastes that can be purchased at jewelry stores are excellent for cleaning.
What products should not be used
The main rule when cleaning is the absence of any abrasive components, even the softest ones, such as chalk or toothpaste.
Cleaning gold plating with abrasives damages the product
The layer of gilding on some products can be very thin. Any, even the softest abrasive, can simply erase it.
The following materials must not be used: baking soda, chalk, toothpaste or powder.
Basic rules for cleaning gold plates
You cannot compare gold-plated products with silver or gold ones.
Therefore, other cleaning methods must be chosen for such items. The sprayed surface easily deteriorates, so it must be properly prepared. The first stage involves removing surface dirt, dust and stains using alcohol or turpentine. It is forbidden to carry out mechanical cleaning, because it may scratch or damage the surface. For home care, it is better to use suede fabric, because... it restores the shine of metal and fights stains. When processing gold-plated watches, it is enough to wipe them with suede. If you are cleaning gold-plated silverware, you must first remove any grease deposits.
It is also necessary to carry out the following activities:
- Wipe the gold plate with a dry cloth. It is better to use flannel, suede or wool for such purposes.
- Then you need to get rid of surface dirt.
There are several factors that contribute to the loss of the natural shade of gold-plated silver:
- Staying in an environment with high humidity.
- Interaction with chemical reagents and drugs.
- Interaction with cosmetic products that a person uses.
- Contact with sweat or certain foods: onions, egg whites, gas and rubber.
Despite its vulnerability to darkening, gold-plated silver continues to be in demand and does not lose its original properties. But to do this, you need to properly care for it, using effective methods and folk remedies.
Cleaning of gilding is carried out taking into account the following rules and recommendations:
- Use only compounds compatible with gold plating.
- Do not clean the surface with tooth powder or chalk. Due to the presence of abrasive particles in the composition, such products can damage the gold plating.
- Wipe the surface regularly with a suede cloth.
- Before you start cleaning, prepare your jewelry.
Cleaning gold plating with your own hands
In the modern market, gold-plated products have occupied a permanent niche, as they look rich, but their price is several times lower than that of gold jewelry, which attracts the average buyer. Every buyer of such products should know how to clean gold plating at home, otherwise over time these jewelry will darken and lose their attractiveness.
Accuracy and thrift are the first rules
It is forbidden to use the same products to clean gold-plated jewelry that are used to renew the appearance of silver and gold items. The gold-plated layer is quite fragile; too much action will damage it.
Before cleaning the gold plate, you first need to remove dirt particles from rings, earrings, and chains. For these purposes you will need alcohol. You can use turpentine.
Do not rub jewelry too hard. It is not recommended to use brushes with hard teeth or fabrics with a dense structure. All cleaning work is carried out with suede, which will not only rid the product of dust and dirt, but also polish it well. In addition to suede, you can take flannel or wool.
If we are talking about cleaning gold-plated cutlery, then first, before polishing, they are washed, removing the greasy layer.
When the work of cleaning the products from dirt has been completed, you can move on to removing darkening and stains that appear on the gilding over time.
Do care methods depend on the manufacturer?
Products and methods for caring for gold-plated jewelry from different manufacturers may vary slightly. Here everything depends on the method of applying gold to the metal surface of jewelry, on its quality, density, layer thickness and other factors. For example, the rules for caring for the products of the two brands of Chinese branded jewelry presented in our online store, Xuping Jewerly and Fallon, have their own characteristics:
- Xuping Jewelry. Gold coating of the surface is carried out using the rolling method. Under the influence of high temperatures and pressures of up to 170 atmospheres, gold forms a thin surface layer. The minimum thickness of the coating allows you to achieve a complete imitation of real gold jewelry and a special shine, but it imposes some restrictions on operation. Thus, any contact with other jewelry is excluded, since even small mechanical impacts can leave scratches on the surface of the product;
- Fallon. The coating is applied by galvanic (electrolytic) method, which allows you to obtain a dense and uniform gold layer. As a result, the product is indistinguishable from real gold jewelry. But, despite modern gilding methods used by the manufacturer, such jewelry remains very vulnerable to chemicals. These include not only acids and alkalis, but also household abrasives, hair care products and even some shampoos. When using gold-plated Fallon jewelry, it is necessary to exclude any contact with aggressive chemicals.
Each manufacturer's products have their own specific care requirements, so only a representative of a jewelry company or distributor can tell you how to clean your products correctly. The general rules of care remain unchanged and relevant for any gold-plated jewelry.
