Damage to the surface can cause precious metal rings, including gold, to lose their attractiveness. Scratches and microscopic defects that create the effect of a matte finish are eliminated using professional means. In special cases, contact specialists for cleaning and polishing. But most often, minor irregularities are smoothed out and eliminated on their own. It is only important to study the instructions on how to polish a gold ring at home. To do this, you can take available means as a basis: products, chemicals.
Why does a gold ring lose its appearance? Why is regular polishing necessary: aesthetics and hygiene
If you constantly polish, this will eventually lead to thinning of the treated area and its deformation (the risk is especially high when polishing yourself). This means that it is important not only to find a suitable method for removing scratches, but also to eliminate the causes of their formation:
- mechanical damage due to impact;
- a natural change in shape at the slightest pressure is a manifestation of the low quality of the ring;
- improper use: jewelry is not removed before taking a bath, playing sports, cooking, etc., and microdamages are intensively formed.
A few nuances worth paying attention to
To keep your favorite jewelry looking new longer and requiring less cleaning, you should follow a few simple rules:
- When washing, cleaning, or hand washing dishes, it is better to remove jewelry. Household chemicals are quite aggressive, so they can damage the coating and cause oxidation and salt deposits.
- When performing cosmetic or medical procedures, you should not wear rings or bracelets, because the substances used can also damage the jewelry.
- It is necessary to remove jewelry made from precious metals at night if you do not want particles of epithelium, secretions of sebaceous and sweat glands to get stuck between the links and clasps of your jewelry.
- It is best to store earrings, rings, bracelets in a place inaccessible to sunlight and humidity, separately from each other, with a cloth.
You have a beautiful piece of white gold jewelry, but over time it has developed a lot of scratches. Can it be polished? It's possible, but it's not always a good idea. Let's see why.
Polishing options: professional or DIY
Before choosing a method for removing scratches, you should consider the available options:
- professional grinding: carried out in the workshop and in departments at jewelry stores; special equipment and products (pastes, solutions) are used to restore products;
- removing scratches yourself: it will not cost much, but it is not always possible to obtain accurate information about the composition of gold, which will certainly affect the result; in addition, there is no guarantee that the surface will be smooth (indentations may form if the product is exposed unevenly).
Polishing a gold ring at home. Main stages
If a gold ring or ring needs to be polished, the “front” of the work should be determined. Stages:
- preparatory work: mix the active components, the resulting solution is used to soak gold rings, this allows you to partially remove dirt and remove darkened areas;
- grinding – smoothing the surface of gold;
- additional mechanical cleaning.
Polishing a gold ring
What is prohibited in cleaning gold?
Like any other polished surface, gold is resistant to abrasives, strong acids, alkalis, processing with hard brushes or other rough materials. The formation of scratches, uncharacteristic darkening and color changes on the surface spoil the aesthetic appearance of the product and make it unpresentable.
When planning to clean gold jewelry, choose the cleaning method wisely, based on the degree of contamination and the foreign materials used in the gold item.
21.03.21
Pre-soak in cleaning solution. Popular recipes
As a rule, polishing gold begins with preparing the material. To soak the ring before further polishing, prepare a liquid product; you can use available ingredients:
- soap solution: the detergent is dissolved in water, after which you need to leave the ring in the container for soaking, the duration of this procedure is 2 hours;
- soda solution: to further polish the decoration, leave it overnight in a container covered with foil, fill it with liquid (1 glass of warm water, 2 tablespoons of soda);
- saline solution: 125 ml water, 3 tbsp. l. fine-grained salt (sea and coarse-grained - strong abrasives), so that the ring shines, it is left overnight in such a liquid, after which it is washed and the moisture is removed;
- sugar solution: the scratched rings are first left overnight in a sweetened solution (take 2 tablespoons of sugar, 250 ml of water), then rinsed under the tap, proceed to the next stage of polishing;
- solution with vinegar or lemon juice: any acid can be used, but this method can be used at home to clean products without stones, white vinegar (125 ml) will help soften the effect of the product, mix it with soda (2 tbsp.), soak in the working solution ring, but you will need to rinse it after 3 hours;
- solution with onion juice: you need to prepare a product based on the juice of 1 onion and 2 tbsp. l. water, jewelry (chains, rings, etc.) are soaked in it for 3 hours;
- “Coca-Cola”: take the drink undiluted, leave the gold items in the container for 2-3 hours;
- hyposulfite solution: the substance removes dirt in 15 minutes, just mix 1 tbsp. l. products and 250 ml of water;
- a mixture of peroxide, ammonia, soda and chalk: these components are taken in a ratio of 2:2:1:1, the solution is suitable for cleaning a ring without stones, because it acts aggressively, this feature does not allow you to leave jewelry in the product for a long time, it is enough to soak 5 minutes.
How to clean gold earrings with stones
If the jewelry is made using precious and semi-precious stones, cleaning should be done with caution. Some reagents (acids, alkalis and others) can cause clouding and sometimes destruction of a stone or mineral.
You can clean gold earrings with diamonds using lipstick. Even if particles of lipstick accidentally fall on the surface of the stone, they are easily removed. Most stones, including natural pearls, respond well to rinsing in warm water or a mild soap solution at room temperature.
Gold earrings with diamonds in the Sunlight catalog
To clean gold earrings with cubic zirconia or other artificial crystals, you can use the methods described above.
If the surface contamination is noticeable enough, you need to contact a jewelry workshop. Using an ultrasonic cleaning method will return your jewelry to its purity and brightness.
Gentle polishing of the ring
Jewelry with stones should not be intensively polished. If products contain natural inserts, polishing can lead to their deformation. As a result, the fastenings become loose. This can cause stone loss over time.
Polishing the ring
Important: Polishing is carried out only with a soft cloth and extremely carefully - such recommendations are given if you plan to polish products inlaid with stones, or with a minimum amount of impurities in the composition (for high-quality jewelry).
Toothpaste, talc
It is necessary to prepare a lint-free rag; the material must be soft, durable, and smooth. Apply a small amount of toothpaste or talcum powder to a rag and treat the ring. Movements should be soft and should be done without pressure. Talc can be mixed with a small amount of ammonia. The resulting paste is used for polishing gold, but for stones it is better to use toothpaste without abrasives, additives, or dyes.
Applying a mixture of toothpaste and talcum powder
Hygienic lipstick, powder
A small amount of the product is applied to a microfiber cloth or other lint-free material. Polishing in this way will restore the shine, but will not remove scratches. Used to eliminate microdamages.
Professional paste GOI, polishing cloths
GOI paste is a universal product that is best used for polishing the metal part of jewelry. There are varieties: No. 1-4. The choice of option is made taking into account the degree of complexity of the damage. At the initial stage, use product No. 4, then gradually reduce the grain size - the product is exposed to paste No. 3, and then No. 1, 2.
GOI paste
Special napkins for polishing are also used. Such products are most often double-sided and are used for cleaning and polishing. It is recommended to use such wipes when the dry polishing method is chosen. You can buy them and polish them yourself.
Method two - Goya paste
If you have already tried at least a little to understand the issues of cleaning gold at home, then you have probably come across methods using Goya paste. This means you know that with the help of this abrasive you can clean not only gold items, but also copper coins, silver and much more. But do you know the insidious nuance of this paste?
In order not to spoil the product, it is worth considering that Goya paste has 4 different compositions. Accordingly, there are options on sale that differ in abrasive ability. Remember, gold is a soft metal and the top layer is very easy to remove. Therefore, you should approach the choice of pasta very carefully.
For gold, it is best to use a black paste, which is suitable specifically for polishing and has an abrasiveness of 0.3-0.1 microns. Due to chromium oxide, which makes up approximately 75% of the paste, you will get a pure mirror shine.
How does it work.
Apply the paste to the fabric (for this it is best to take a waffle towel or flannel), rub the ring, earrings or bracelet, polish with clean and dry velvet.
Disadvantages of the method.
If you use green, highly abrasive paste instead of black paste, you risk damaging your gold and reducing its weight. Of course, this will not be noticeable from the outside. But if you want to exchange the product for another one with an additional payment for the work, you will be unpleasantly surprised when weighing it in the store.
Bottom line.
If you want to polish gold using GOI, then choose only black paste.
Tips on how to maintain the shine of a product for a long time
To prevent scratches on a gold ring from appearing again, it is recommended to follow the rules for handling jewelry:
- rings must be removed before washing dishes or doing other housework;
- Before taking a bath and while playing sports, jewelry is removed;
- Do not use cosmetics without removing the ring.
Polished gold ring with diamonds
Method three - lipstick
We found this method on the Internet, where it was published as a life hack, and tested it. The soft chapstick that we rubbed on the wedding ring and then wiped with a soft cloth was as good as new!
Using this method, we were unable to hide the scratches on the ring, which simply inevitably appear with constant wear. But we were able to give it a very bright shine.
So, chapstick works, but does every woman have it in her makeup bag? Most often there is a colored lipstick, and we decided to try out how it would work.
You don't need to put in any special effort. Easily apply lipstick, wipe with a napkin and off you go.
Disadvantages of the method.
Any lipstick, whether hygienic or not, contains fats. Accordingly, a greasy film remains on the gold. If the ring does not fit tightly on your finger, then you risk losing it after such a procedure. It is better to use this method if the ring is very tight.
Category: questions and answers
How to polish grandma's old ring?
Expert opinion
Pribrezhny Gennady Valentinovich
Jeweler 6th category
Antique products are covered with hardened plaque and fatty components, which enhances the antique effect, but they need to be removed. To do this, use the method of soaking in a mild solution. Then carefully remove dirt with a soft toothbrush. If there is a stone on the ring, this method will not work; non-abrasive products are used. Instead of a brush, use a polishing cloth.
After professional polishing, I saw that the white ring had turned yellow in places. From what?
Expert opinion
Grishanov Mikhail Petrovich
Jeweler, director of the Grishanov and Co. workshop
If white jewelry loses color not before, but after polishing, the reason may be the removal of the rhodium layer. This is a common practice: to remove scratches, the protective layer is removed. It can be restored, but most craftsmen charge an additional fee for such work.
How much does polishing cost?
Expert opinion
Pribrezhny Gennady Valentinovich
Jeweler 6th category
The price of the service for restoring the properties of gold varies depending on a number of parameters: the size of the ring, the presence of stones, the method of their attachment, the type of protective coating, the degree of damage to the metal. For this reason, workshops usually provide average prices (200-1000 rubles or more, it also depends on the level of the workshop and region). The exact cost must be clarified on the spot; it will be announced after inspecting the ring.
How to polish a gold ring from scratches at home using improvised means?
Expert opinion
Grishanov Mikhail Petrovich
Jeweler, director of the Grishanov and Co. workshop
They use different methods: powder, talc, tooth powder and paste, as well as special napkins and GOI paste. The choice of option is made taking into account the sample of the metal and the presence of stones. As a rule, fine-grained substances are used to smooth the surface of the gold, and the stones are cleaned with liquid products, woven material and pastes that do not contain abrasives or acids.
Pros and cons of professional polishing: jeweler, electrochemical and ultrasonic cleaning
Pros of professional cleaning:
- high efficiency, because special equipment and professional line products are used;
- restoration of various products, including those requiring care: diamonds, pearls, agate, etc.
- the composition of gold is taken into account when working with it, which allows you to preserve the properties of the polished metal and prevent the development of negative processes;
- the ability to restore the product in a short time.
Reviews
I have a friend who is a jeweler and I constantly ask for advice. From the latter: he told me that soap is not such a safe method, because it leaves an invisible film on the product, it needs to be washed thoroughly. Now I try to use the mildest products (for example, toothpaste, without additives).
Nastya Grineva, Beloretsk
Maria Dubtsova, Krasnodar
Cleaning gold with my lipstick. If on the road I find that the ring has turned pale, I immediately take out a napkin. I apply lipstick and rub the jewelry with this product. I do this regularly, and therefore I don’t have to put in too much effort to restore the attractiveness of the ring.
I didn't like the effect after using salt. The ring seemed to have become cloudy. But I found a mistake - I didn’t leave it in the solution, and apparently scratched it when I rubbed it. I had to take it to the workshop for polishing.
Nastya Rybina, Tula
