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To clean or not to clean


normaninvasion
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normaninvasion

Thought I'd start this topic to get the opinions of the ega collectors regarding this question, esp. for officers dress pieces. The big questions are: Does one hurt the value of a piece with a light cleaning and is cleaning taking away history? I personally do like age to the item, black in fret work contrasting against grey. But I do seem to get irked when a piece seems obscured by blackness, such as hallmarks being hidden by tarnish. Can ega's be classified the same as antique jewelry and silverware which is acceptable to clean or should they be left alone like coins and medals? And is what I'm cleaning really 100 year old patina? I know it comes down to personal preference but hoping our thoughts may help both collector and non collector for future reference. Jeff

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Old Marine

That's a really good question, I never know what to do with the crud either. I know that dirt, and green gunk shows it's age and "it is what it is", but I know that is not what it looked like when it was being used by a Marine. I look forward to the other opinions also.

 

 

Dennis

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bunkerhillburning

A lot of the question boils down to do you plan on ever selling the item? If so, I'd not clean them as a potential buyer may be put off by them being cleaned. Even if they are not terribly put off by the cleaning it gives them an argument for a reduction in price.

 

" Well..I like them - but they have been cleaned... "

 

If you don't plan on selling them I'd do whatever you like.

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Bob Hudson

The green gunk has to go: it is to copper-based metals as rust is to iron-based metals and it will eat away at and damage the piece, if it hasn't done so already. Wooden toothpicks work great on cleaning that - you can even break a toothpick in half to get a slightly wider cleaning tools.

 

Here's an article about this: http://vintagejewelrylane.com/information/verdigris.htm They get into extreme cleaning, which is fine for some jewelry you want to sparkle, but with many EGA's you might want to save the non-harmful patina, so just get in their with the toothpicks and scrape away.

 

On the sterling silver parts of officer EGA's you encounter tarnish, but that is generally not going to cause damage and in fact the act of polishing may do damage over the long run as it wears down fine details: http://www.thehenryford.org/research/caring/silver.aspx#2a

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normaninvasion

BHB: Good points and this is the question, since we dont take our collections to the grave. Should there be a standard?

 

FS: Thanks for those links. I should also add that the light cleaning I have done consisted of a Q-Tip and Haggerty Silver Foam. The Ford article brought up another question- "what is being cleaned off"? Living in the Nor.east, the humidity in the summer silver turns black in a season....patina or tarnish?

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Bob Hudson
"what is being cleaned off"? Living in the Nor.east, the humidity in the summer silver turns black in a season....patina or tarnish?

 

 

I think that generally silver tarnish is not as harmful in the long run as are cleaning and polishing chemicals.

 

As for patina or tarnish - well on copper based objects (brass and bronze) you have shiny new finishes, aged ones with some patina, and then ones with green verdigris that is eating away at the metal. The trick is to clean it without making it shiny again.

 

pennyshine.jpg

 

Now we do see copper based objects with a nice looking green patina, but that is often artificial. As a rule, though, look at it the same as you do damaging rust.

 

On leather items with brass snaps the verdigris is often responsible for the snaps breaking off as it eats away at them.

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Jack's Son

There will never be agreement on this subject. I feel that some things age more gracefully then others. EGA's, Medals and Wings come to mind. Other items may ACCUALLY be better off with a light non chemical cleaning. Ultimately, it is the choise of the owner!

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The museum preservation standard is to remove all foreign matter which is causing damage to the underlying artifact, by using the most reversible and least damaging method, always.

 

Professional cleaning of valuable or priceless metal objects has occurred every day for generations, with no consequences other than probable increase in monetary or historical value.

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normaninvasion

JS: I'm thinking there may be some concensus in the ega community regarding this issue, as it is a small segment. Take coins for example, if one polishes a coin you quickly realize that you cut the value in half, when trying to sell it. I guess I'm a bit stuck on silver and gold ega's and seeing it in the same light as jewelry. Jeff

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usmcaviator

I have stated before that I am not a fan of polished EGAs, I do not buy them after one has "cleaned" it. Most of the time the cleaning is not very good and also exposes ugly flaws within the piece (plating loss, damage, and nicks). On dress peices it is very hard to get the black out of the fine etched details and latitude lines. Most polishing results in just the high points getting the polish. If you're going to do it, at least do it right by dipping it. All or nothing deal.

 

I can understand cleaning corrosion to help preserve a piece (like an emergency deal...if I dont clean this now it will not be here in a few years), but that is not serving the same purpose as an outright removal of all signs of age. In my opinion, these things get better with age, the natural tones of aged silver and gold are striking. Polished brass looks like brass minus the "br" in an old piece.

 

While vintage EGAs may be considered jewelry, they are not worn around like a lot of vintage jewelry. They are no longer for show. And while it may be perfectly fine to polish vintage jewelry so that you could wear it, there is a difference with EGAs....no one will be wearing them. Why polish it? To me, the age that a piece shows is a sign of its lineage, its retirement, and its whole "originality". To strip all signs of age off completely de-values it in my opinion. I dont care what anyone says, the age doesn't come back in a few years or even in ten. You can always tell when a vintage piece has been cleaned decades after the fact.

 

Should you polish a badge from the Civil War? Spanish American War? WW1? WW2? I'd say the closer you get to modern, the less harm you will do if you just have to monkey with an EGA.

 

I would think that any collector of quality vintage metal insignia would consider any old piece extremely de-valued if it were to have the age removed through polishing.

 

Mike

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... If you're going to do it, at least do it right by dipping it.

 

... To strip all signs of age off completely de-values it in my opinion.

Exactly.

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Leatherneck72

Once it is yours you can polish the heck out of it, but as far as the collectors I know, polishing EGA's, medals, swords, guns, coins, Indian Tomahawks, etc......KILLS the value. You can't replace 100 years of age after you screw it up. When I was growing up in a house of Civil War and other antiques, it was always looked at as an amateur move when someone polished something valuable, and it made the serious collectors grimace. (Not the purple monster blob from McDonald's) :thumbdown:

 

My two cents of course......

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  • 3 weeks later...

I clean under 2 circumstances only...the green oxidation, as stated, and removing paint or lacquer on service emblems (not the quality issue stuff, but the cheap stuff that scratches off, usually added at home with a can of spray paint, etc). I've found fingernail polish remover removes this stuff without having an effect on the original, quality finish

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  • 4 months later...

I use baking soda on the silver pieces. I dont plan on selling them, so I give em a little cleaning and I enjoy them much better. Just my two cents.

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