How can I remove tarnish from old bulk spool of tinsel ??
 

Hi all

I bought a bulk spool of silver tinsel a number of years ago and it
was meant to last forever. However after 3 or 4 years the tinsel
started showing signs of tarnishing. In my wisdom I cut a piece and
dipped it in the wifes silver cleaning dip and it came up sparkling
bright. So a few days later I decided to dip the whole spool (when the
wife was out of course) anyway the spool was sparkling bright and I
was very pleased with it.

Then a week later I went to tie a fly and the tinsel had seriously
tarnished to a very dull grey. I think there must have been a reaction
with the air afterwards and I appear to have lost a huge spool of oval
silver tinsel. :-(

I did thoroughly wash the spool after dipping but I'm afraid it did'nt
stop the reaction.

Does anyone know of a safer dip that would remove the tarnish again
and not have a reaction so soon afterwards. (1 week)

Thanks in advance for any offers of advice.

How can I remove tarnish from old bulk spool of tinsel ??
 

In article ,
says...
Hi all

I bought a bulk spool of silver tinsel a number of years ago and it
was meant to last forever. However after 3 or 4 years the tinsel
started showing signs of tarnishing.


Step 1) Heave the tarnished tinsel into the nearest trash receptacle.

Step 2) Go to your local flyshop or get out the catalogs, and purchase
a new spool of mylar tinsel. This will last forever without tarnishing,
and is a lot easier to tie with as well. It's probably cheaper than
buying tarnish remover.

HTH,
Kevin

How can I remove tarnish from old bulk spool of tinsel ??
 

"Techie Guy" schrieb im Newsbeitrag
...
SNIP.

Does anyone know of a safer dip that would remove the tarnish again
and not have a reaction so soon afterwards. (1 week)

Thanks in advance for any offers of advice.



Various chemical dips will remove the tarnishing, but this exposes the blank
silver to the air, and it immediately tarnishes again. The "tarnish" is
mainly caused by black silver sulphide forming on the surface. The
sulphur is in the atmosphere, mostly as a gas called hydrogen sulphide,
which is produced by vehicle exhausts, chimneys etc etc Tarnishing is worse
in cities, or industrial areas. Both fine silver, and sterling silver are
affected.

The only half way satisfactory way to clean tinsel like this is at the tying
bench. Draw a length through a cloth containing a little jewellers rouge, or
use one of the proprietary silver cleaning cloths. Some of these also
contain various ingredients which will delay the tarnishing.

There is no way to stop blank silver tarnishing, except by coating it with
something, after it has been polished. You could try nail varnish. Various
chemical dips will remove the tarnishing, but this exposes the silver to the
air, and it immediately tarnishes again.

Silver tinsel will also tarnish on the flies tied with it, and the tarnish
will often discolour the flies badly as well.

If you want ease of use, and non-tarnishing silver, then use a plastic
tinsel such as mylar, etc.

TL
MC

How can I remove tarnish from old bulk spool of tinsel ??
 

Here is an article that might be useful:

http://www.fedflyfishers.org/FlyTyin...all/polish.htm

Cheers,
Ken


"Mike Connor" skrev i melding
...

"Techie Guy" schrieb im Newsbeitrag
...
SNIP.

Does anyone know of a safer dip that would remove the tarnish again
and not have a reaction so soon afterwards. (1 week)

Thanks in advance for any offers of advice.



Various chemical dips will remove the tarnishing, but this exposes the
blank
silver to the air, and it immediately tarnishes again. The "tarnish" is
mainly caused by black silver sulphide forming on the surface. The
sulphur is in the atmosphere, mostly as a gas called hydrogen sulphide,
which is produced by vehicle exhausts, chimneys etc etc Tarnishing is
worse
in cities, or industrial areas. Both fine silver, and sterling silver are
affected.

The only half way satisfactory way to clean tinsel like this is at the
tying
bench. Draw a length through a cloth containing a little jewellers rouge,
or
use one of the proprietary silver cleaning cloths. Some of these also
contain various ingredients which will delay the tarnishing.

There is no way to stop blank silver tarnishing, except by coating it with
something, after it has been polished. You could try nail varnish.
Various
chemical dips will remove the tarnishing, but this exposes the silver to
the
air, and it immediately tarnishes again.

Silver tinsel will also tarnish on the flies tied with it, and the tarnish
will often discolour the flies badly as well.

If you want ease of use, and non-tarnishing silver, then use a plastic
tinsel such as mylar, etc.

TL
MC

How can I remove tarnish from old bulk spool of tinsel ??
 

What material is the "silver " tinsel made of? If it is truly silver, I do not
recommendfthrowing it away.


Lou T

How can I remove tarnish from old bulk spool of tinsel ??
 

On Thu, 5 Feb 2004 22:25:51 +0100, "Mike Connor"
wrote:

snip

The only half way satisfactory way to clean tinsel like this is at the tying
bench. Draw a length through a cloth containing a little jewellers rouge, or
use one of the proprietary silver cleaning cloths. Some of these also
contain various ingredients which will delay the tarnishing.

There is no way to stop blank silver tarnishing, except by coating it with
something, after it has been polished. You could try nail varnish. Various
chemical dips will remove the tarnishing, but this exposes the silver to the
air, and it immediately tarnishes again.

Silver tinsel will also tarnish on the flies tied with it, and the tarnish
will often discolour the flies badly as well.

If you want ease of use, and non-tarnishing silver, then use a plastic
tinsel such as mylar, etc.

TL
MC
I guess the cloth is my best option unless someone knows a secret
formula for a dip that doesn't make the tinsel re-tarnish too quickly.
My worry is that if I clean the tinsel and then tie up some Salmon
flies with it. The tinsel will re-tarnish and detract for the look of
the finished fly within a week or so.

I appreciate that tinsel will tarnish on flies anyway but this is
usually quite a long term process of years rather than days or weeks.

Thanks
Techie Guy(aquatyer)
--
http://www.flytier.co.uk

How can I remove tarnish from old bulk spool of tinsel ??
 

"Techie Guy" schrieb im Newsbeitrag
...
On Thu, 5 Feb 2004 22:25:51 +0100, "Mike Connor"
wrote:

snip
I guess the cloth is my best option unless someone knows a secret
formula for a dip that doesn't make the tinsel re-tarnish too quickly.
My worry is that if I clean the tinsel and then tie up some Salmon
flies with it. The tinsel will re-tarnish and detract for the look of
the finished fly within a week or so.

I appreciate that tinsel will tarnish on flies anyway but this is
usually quite a long term process of years rather than days or weeks.

Thanks
Techie Guy(aquatyer)
--
http://www.flytier.co.uk

Yes, I reckon the silver cleaning cloth is your best option, although the
stuff that the guy described in the other post sounds good as well.

The "standard" dip for cleaning silver was washing soda ( washing soda NOT
bicarbonate), with a few pieces of aluminium foil in it. This removes the
tarnish immediately, and a quick polish afterwards restores the lustre.
Don´t know how long it lasts though. I have only ever used it on silver
spoons, and not very often either. They all turn black eventually though.

Really, there is no good reason to use genuine silver tinsel anymore.
Plastic is much better.

TL
MC

How can I remove tarnish from old bulk spool of tinsel ??
 

I guess the cloth is my best option unless someone knows a secret
formula for a dip that doesn't make the tinsel re-tarnish too quickly.
My worry is that if I clean the tinsel and then tie up some Salmon
flies with it. The tinsel will re-tarnish and detract for the look of
the finished fly within a week or so.

I appreciate that tinsel will tarnish on flies anyway but this is
usually quite a long term process of years rather than days or weeks.

Well, you can coat the tinsel with nail polish just before applying it
to the fly and let it dry thoroughly prior to wrapping. That's what
I've done for some shadow box Salmon flies that I've tied. I've also
used a VERY THIN coat of softex, which remains flexible after it dries,
but I'm a bit concerned that it will yellow over time.

Larry

How can I remove tarnish from old bulk spool of tinsel ??
 

"Techie Guy" wrote in message
...

I guess the cloth is my best option unless someone knows a secret
formula for a dip that doesn't make the tinsel re-tarnish too quickly.
My worry is that if I clean the tinsel and then tie up some Salmon
flies with it. The tinsel will re-tarnish and detract for the look of
the finished fly within a week or so.

I appreciate that tinsel will tarnish on flies anyway but this is
usually quite a long term process of years rather than days or weeks.

I don't know any secret formulas, but there is a very cheap, easy and
effective way to remove the tarnish without using any chemicals at all. A
simple old fashioned pencil eraser will do the job nicely. Of course, there
is no way to prevent the silver from tarnishing again without providing a
barrier that will seal it against contact with air. I've never tried it
myself, but I suspect that a good automotive wax would do the trick. No
thick coating, no flexibility issues, and relatively benign, chemically.

Wolfgang

How can I remove tarnish from old bulk spool of tinsel ??
 

"Mike Connor" wrote in message
...

Really, there is no good reason to use genuine silver tinsel anymore.
Plastic is much better.



The only reason to use the real tinsel would be to immitate the original
style flies. I have been thinking about trying to get some real tinsel for
tying up some of the original pattern Spey & Dee flies like the Lady
Caroline, Carron, Black Heron and Glen Grant.

Using mylar just wouldn't do these flies justice.

For all other flies though, those for fishing, I would use the mylar tinsel.