My current obsession for my own personal collection is a particular shaped cutlery set, seen in the images below. I just think it has the most elegant and yet rustic shape to it - is that too much of a contradiction? So, at the weekend we went to our local car boot to hunt for more treasures for the shop. But what do I come across as I'm rummaging through but a huge hoard of my favourite cutlery! Unfortunately I couldn't resist, but the problem was they were all tarnished and black. So this is my first top tip for you fellow bargain hunters out there.
HOW TO RESTORE YOUR TARNISHED CUTLERY AT HOME:
What you need from your store is a lemon or lime, some salt, a sponge with a scourer and a large bowl of water.
The first thing to do is squeeze some juice into the water and put your cutlery in to soak. Then take out one piece if cutlery at a time and rub the surface with the lemon or lime. You then want to moisten the sponge in the water and pick up some salt with the sponge on the scourer side. You then need to gently rub the salt into the surface of the metal until the surface starts to shine, dipping it in and out of the water.
Basically, what is happening is the acid from the citrus helps break down the tarnish layer on the metal, the salt and scourer then abrade the surface removing the tarnish.
WARNING: You want to abrade the surface gently as you are actually removing the top surface of the metal. If you are at all worried about your treasure being damaged then use the soft side of the sponge instead and be very gentle. You will also want to make sure you rinse the cutlery thoroughly after removing the tarnish to make sure the citrus doesn't continue to break down the surface.
I hope that this has helped you guys bring back to life some things at home, and also encourage you not to be put off buying cutlery that you see in the carboot.
Speak to you all soon.
x
