Seeking advice on restoring rim color and silver shank (photos)

[Makulit]

Hello everyone,

I'd like to start off by mentioning I'm a newcomer here. If my question has been answered somewhere, making this thread redundant, I apologize.

I am seeking your advice on how to restore my Stanwell H.C. Anderson pipe, particularily the rim color and the shining silver of the shank. Pipe maintenance is something I know next to nothing about.

When I bought it a couple of years ago, it looked like this:



And now, it looks like this:




The lovely red color of the rim is nowhere to be seen, and the once brightly shining silver shank is now dull and gray. Would anyone here be able to point me in the right direction on how to bring these details back?

I'm not sure what tools or chemical solutions I should use for this. I'm afraid I'd cause more harm than good if I set out to try restoring it.

I live in the Philippines, so some special tools/products may or may not be available to me.

Thank you for reading. Any advice you might have is greatly appreciated!

Best wishes,
Makulit

 

[Chasing Embers]

Looks like you've got some buildup on the rim. A damp paper towel should remedy that. For the silver, a jeweler's cloth or plain white toothpaste will clean and shine it up if it's not plated.

 

[J Clifton]

For silver pipe fittings, especially if they may only be plated and therefore need a more gentle approach to avoid removing the silver layer, I definitely consider it worth dropping the $5-6 for a silver cream/polish if you can find it. For anything with just a light tarnish or for touch-ups a silver polishing cloth may be enough, but between my husband's love of antique pipes, razors, and vestas (and tendency to buy the ones in rough condition), I buy my silver cream in bulk and consider it well worth it as many homemade options may be a little more harsh/abrasive. Also, most polishes/creams will include a slight protective element that will reduce the rate of tarnish in the future and extend the longevity of a thin silver plate.

Beautiful pipe, I am sure it will look lovely again soon!

 

[sablebrush52]

Spit, a rag, and a little elbow grease will clean off the rim. A jewelers polishing cloth will gently remove the tarnish. I also use Simichrome as it is particularly gentle on finishes.

 

[Makulit]

Thank you, everyone. I will give the ol' "spitshine" a try!
Interesting thought about using toothpaste for the silver, I hope this will do the trick as well.

 

[daveinlax]

A dab of hand sanitizer on a Q-tip for the rim and a jewelers cloth on the silver. The yellow clothes are more aggressive but be very careful not to spin off the adornment with the cloth.

 

[Makulit]

A dab of hand sanitizer on a Q-tip for the rim and a jewelers cloth on the silver. The yellow clothes are more aggressive but be very careful not to spin off the adornment with the cloth.

Is there any risk the alcohol could "bleach" or lighten the rim? Genuine question, I'm not knowledgable of these things at all.

 

[Sigmund]

Yes, alcohol and bleach will remove stain if not used very lightly
If you have a number of pipes with silver just grab a small bottle of hagardys silver polish.
It should be around 5 bucks.
It will never scratch and its great

that or pick up a cheap silver cloth. I think I got a pack of 50 of them (small and individually wrapped) for 3 bucks on ali express. I use them on my pipe dressings and my silver lighters.

 

[OzPiper]

Is there any risk the alcohol could "bleach" or lighten the rim?

Alcohol WILL remove certain stains.
Be careful when doing a salt/cotton ball and alcohol treatment not to drip alcohol on the exterior of the bowl.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Is there any risk the alcohol could "bleach" or lighten the rim?

Yes

 

[daveinlax]

Is there any risk the alcohol could "bleach" or lighten the rim? Genuine question, I'm not knowledgable of these things at all.

I’ve never experienced any issues with stain using gel hand sanitizer. I don’t know if it has less alcohol or if the gel is more precise that you are just working the gunk and it’s not getting on the bare stain.