Cleaning Pins

[utbeautyandthebean]

I have a collection of pins that I absolutely love.  Some of those included are the WDI Epcot Poster Pins, and a few of them have tarnish markings on the pin edges.  What have people done that works, to clean these up? Or have you had a similar experience?  

[ViciousLady]

When it comes to pin cleaning it's always vital to know what pin elements you're working with. Anything screen printed on a pin can easily be rubbed off by even the most gentle cleaners. And any FreeD rubber parts can be ruined by the wrong chemical exposure. If it's just pure metal I'd honestly use a q-tip and some light circular rubbing. I've dared to use a q-tip and a tiny bit of rubbing alcohol on the backs of pins if they have a little tarnish, grime, or sticker residue on them. A tiny drop of dawn liquid soap with water usually is enough though without having to resort to that. A small microfiber cloth (like for cleaning jewelry or glasses) might also help.

[utbeautyandthebean]

Hey, thank you for taking the time to respond,   I appreciate it!  I just have this growing collection of old and fairly valuable pins that I want to make sure I don’t damage.  Smart move - starting with something basic and not overly complicated.  I’ll try that and see what happens.  Is there anyway to prevent this from happening?  It feels like if my pins that were stored in a box for the last 20 years are showing signs, I’m doomed when I bring them out, wanting to display them.  For the most part, I haven’t seen too much damage, but most heavily on WDI pins, ironically!  I think it will bode well for me hopefully, that I live in a very dry climate?!  

[buzz2001]

For the metal only, I've used a combo of baking soda and vinegar to remove tarnish from the metal and pin backs. But as viciouslady stated, be extremely careful with any screen print.

Edited Thursday at 10:18 AM by buzz2001

[ViciousLady]

@utbeautyandthebean Metal unfortunately just...does tarnish over time and exposure, BUT depending on how and where you display them they should be okay. I mean that tiny tarnish after 20 years in a box isn't wild. I'd suggest if you frame them for display to make sure there's UV protection (so printed elements don't fade), and a silica packet at the bottom of the frame (to help avoid tarnish from excess humidity).

[utbeautyandthebean]

Love these comments, thank you!