The Care and Keeping of Your Antiques

What You’ll Need to Keep Your New Finds Looking New

Ask anyone and they’ll tell you: silver is beautiful, but it isn’t low maintenance. It takes work, extra care, and dedication – unless you like the worn, tarnished patina, which some people do. The same goes with antiques. They’re one-of-a-kind, irreplaceable – and because of that, need a little more attention. That’s why I’m sharing a few tips – and some of my favorite products – to keeping your antiques and serving pieces in top shape.

We are constantly having friends over and entertaining, so I always keep a few different silver polishes on-hand. My favorites though are silver wipes. I love these by Weiman. I’ve also tried the Connoisseurs brand, which is great because it’s dry, but I don’t think it gets as thorough a clean as others.

If it’s a Sunday night and we’re catching up on episodes of The Kitchen, then I’ll use the liquid polish. Always. You get a deeper clean that way.

If we’re having friends over on a weeknight (see also this post), I’m grabbing the silver polish wipes and calling it a day. I know it won’t give me as deep a polish, but it will get the tarnish off and leave the shine on in minutes.

Also, always wash your silver after you polish. Another lesson I learned the hard way. It takes a quick dip into warm soapy water and your piece will come out shining.

I use cleansing cloths for most silver polishing, though any old washcloths or fabric extras will work.

A quick note on tarnish…again, y’all, I learned this one the hard way, too! I love mixing and matching new pieces, like the Reed and Barton open baker below, with older antiques. You have to be so careful. I’ve mentioned earlier to examine the bottom of a silver piece you’re looking at for a stamp with the maker and what kind of metal it is (silver plated, quadruple plated, etc.)

You’ll also want to be so careful about checking out tarnish. If it looks like the tarnish has changed color and gone deep into the metal, it might be a sign it’s past the point of repair. You can actually use your thumb (and a lot of pressure) to try to wipe off some of the tarnish.

The baker on the left is my new Reed and Barton. The one on the right was what I thought a terrific antique find. It turns out, the silver plating on the feet and handles had worn off (and probably weren’t as good quality as they should have been to begin with). No amount of elbow grease can save this piece sadly, so I use it if I’m in a bind and call it a lovely, weathered patina.

Jacpol wax is my absolute favorite for my antiques. It comes in light, medium, and dark tones, and is just fabulous. Antique furniture tends to be a bit high maintenance – we can all relate, really. A warm cloth is wonderful in most instances. I’ve heard of using linseed oil. I did some research after acquiring a beautiful buffet table.

Jacpol wax is a high quality wax that’s used the same recipe since 1827. It also states that it is the “warrant holder and care supplier to the Master of the Household for Her Royal Majesty Makers of Polishes. Because I am a marketer’s absolute dream and a bit of an Anglophile, I jumped on this. And I couldn’t be happier.

It doesn’t take much of the wax on a cleansing cloth to make a big difference in your antiques. Make sure that you get the closest color wax for your pieces. You’ll then apply it with the grain in a light coat. One of the best parts of this wax is that it actually helps fill in some of the nicks and small chips that antique pieces inevitably get along the way.

(J.Crew top – older, similar here; J.Crew Toothpick jeans here; J.Crew leopard loafers – 50% off now)

Leave the wax on for 15 minutes and it’s ready to go. Remember, it is a wax. And it takes some serious elbow grease to buff out. Once you do, you’ll be floored with the results. It completely restores the shine and beauty of your antiques.