Tin is slow to tarnish. Which is why it is a great material for reflective ornaments like our Victorian Tinsel. It will be years before your piece has noticeably lost its luster. Tarnishing can be slowed down be storing your item in an airtight bag. If you want to polish use a non abrasive metal cleaner. Read the directions carefully. A lot of elbow grease may be required to use the cleaner. Our favorite is Nevr-Dull™. We do not advise the rough side of any punched item be polished.
Does tin tarnish?
by Garrett-Pietersma Tinworks | Jan 22, 2019 | Information | 2 comments
2 Comments
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Hi, I re-soldered a glass door on a Mexican tin candle sconce and used an acid flux. The tin darkened as a result. Can I restore it to its former shiny glory?
Hi Paul,
Thank you for reaching out. To answer your question, the acid would have possibly eaten away, “etched”, or stained the shiny tin surface. Depending on the level of what I will call “corrosion”, it may be possible to polish the tin back to a nice shine. This could be difficult depending on the shape of the object and would also be subject to the level of damage from the acid (e.g. slight staining versus actual corrosion). I have done it before with a buffing wheel and a polish stick meant for softer metals, but again, it is situation dependent. Hopefully that helps answer your question. Please let me know if you need help with anything else.
Sincerely,
Garrett, owner
Pietersma Tinworks