what to do with cheap chain

[rainbodragon]

i got a bunch of cheap silverplate chain on clearance.  its already turning brassy.  is there a way i could patina them or just get the plating off so i can do something with them?

[Polly]

Most likely, the silver (of that layer of silver plate) is tarnishing, and just needs to be cleaned like any silver item.

You do have to be careful to use a mild silver cleaner, rather than one that eats too much of the surface layer -- you don't want it to "clean" the whole layer of silver plate right off.

You can use a silver polishing cloth like one of these.  It's a little time-consuming for a large quantity of cheap clearance items, but quite effective on all the surface points. It would work well on cobra or serpentine chains, but not so well on link chains (because the cloth won't touch interior points).

Most silver dips should do the trick, but be sure to rinse immediately and thoroughly.  I've also discovered that if you don't rinse thoroughly enough, they re-tarnish in just a few days.

After cleaning them, store them away from rubber bands and anything that contains sulphur, to keep them from re-tarnishing.

[Luann Udell]

You could try that trick for cleaning silver:  Put the chains in an aluminum container or line one with aluminum foil.  Pour some baking soda on top, then add enough boiling water to cover the chains.  Let sit & the tarnish should go away.

I just googled this and see that one technique calls for actually "cooking" the silver on a stove top.  I don't think you'd need to go that far with chains, though.

[Russ Nobbs]

Thanks for reminding us of this alternative method, Luann!

Here's a link that talks about the chemistry of the process
http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/Dec2002/1041253726.Ch.r.html

And a link to some other "how tos"
http://www.oursimplejoys.com/jewelry/articles/howto-clean-sterling-silver.html


http://jewelrymaking.about.com/cs/allprojects/a/042504.htm
Tammy's revision of Tim McCreight baking soda and aluminum foil

From Tammy Powley,
Your Guide to Jewelry Making.
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Turn your kitchen into a jewelry cleaning lab. It's easy with some basic ingredients you probably already have on hand. You'll need the following ingredients and equipment.

Ingredients:
¼ cup baking soda  **  Sodium BiCarbonate NaHCO3
         (Some suggest the more caustic "washing soda" Sodium Carbonate Na2CO3)
¼ cup salt
¼ cup liquid dish soap
½ gallon of water  **

Equipment:
Large pot
Aluminum foil **
Plastic spoon
Stove top
colander or strainer
towel

Take a large pot, such as a spaghetti pot, and completely line the inside with aluminum foil. Pour all of the ingredients into the pot and stir with your plastic spoon. Collect the sterling silver jewelry you want to clean, and count each item so you know the total number you put into the pot. Place them into the solution and spread them out on the bottom of the pot so they don't touch each other. Bring this to a low boil for a few minutes. Then turn off the burner and let it sit for another couple of minutes. Then using the colander or strainer, pour out the solution. Rinse well with cold water making sure that all salt is rinsed off your silver. (Salt will eventually corrode metal.) Count your items as you place them on a towel to dry. Make sure you’ve accounted for all your jewelry before you throw away the aluminum. It will be dirty because the oxides on your jewelry were transferred to it. Your sterling silver jewelry should now look like new.

 MamaKitty (lueloffd) says: First, washing soda is preferable to baking soda in this process. The combination of washing soda and the aluminum foil causes the tarnish to be lifted from the metal by a tiny electrolytic current activated by the salt.  The aluminum will attract the sulphur from the silver (but only while the silver is in contact with the foil).

Edited to add: the hot water doesn't do anything to "make" the solution work. It just makes it work faster.