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Daily Wire Tip Oct. 11: When to Let Go of a Cleaning Cloth

By on October 10, 2010
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Daily Wire Jewelry Making Tip for
October 11, 2010

Question:

I purchased a cleaning/polishing cloth, and it’s worked terrific. Now it’s quite dirty. The directions said it had some sort of chemicals on it. Can I wash it in the wash machine or by hand? Or do I need to buy a new one?

-Catherine in Arlington, Virginia

Answer:

Sorry, Catherine, you cannot wash a polishing cloth and expect it to work, as washing will remove the polishing compounds in the cloth.

To learn more about different polishing cloths, please enjoy this video clip, Using a Polishing Cloth, with WS Faculty members Mary Bailey and Sherrie Lingerfelt.

The best solution is to use a polishing cloth until it is totally black, then throw it away and get a new one.

Answer contributed by Dale “Cougar” Armstrong

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4 Comments

  1. avatar

    SandyK

    October 11, 2010 at 12:02 pm

    Or, if you are really ambitious, you can make your own. This works great:
    http://tipnut.com/homemade-silver-polishing-cloths/

    • avatar

      dalecgr

      October 11, 2010 at 3:07 pm

      How cool SandyK – thanks for sharing with us!

  2. avatar

    DeLane

    October 11, 2010 at 12:07 pm

    One of the advantages to using a chamois to clean and straighten wire is that it can be washed and used again and again. And I think it is easier on your hands, too.

  3. avatar

    Patricia Whitlow

    October 11, 2010 at 8:22 pm

    The cloth can still be used as a polishing cloth after washing, it would just require a polishing agent before hand. I use my old washed ones on my larger pieces of silver like nick knacks and sliver dishes that I can use a polishing agent on. A bit more work but when one has had silver around for a long time one usually has a collection of polishing agents around…