cleaning pewter?

It's The Forum Kitchen, right? So, I can start a thread about cleaning up? Good.

We were recently given a pewter quaich. We, apparently unwisely, used it as a dish to hold citrus slices for use in alcoholic libations. It now has dark stains, as if tarnished, although it has been washed thoroughly.

I applied silver polish, and that appears to have, perhaps, lessened some of the stains. Certainly, a lot of shmutz came off onto the cloth. But, basically, the stains remain.

Does anyone have any advice about how to clean/polish pewter?

Thanks for any guidance.

Jeff, Hi.....


I'm one of those people who adores fine pewter. One of the rules is to never remove the patina that develops but to remove only stains that can develop, for example, from citrus fruits or tea. My own method - learned years ago from a rather antique antique dealer upstate New York (I am sure he was 90 years old when I met him) :

In a glass container mix together 1 cup cider vinegar, 1 tsp. salt and 1/2 cup flour. Mix those well until a more or less liquid-like paste is formed. With a soft cloth apply to the pewter, rub genty, let sit for 20 minutes, rinse under cold water and then pat dry with a fresh soft cloth.

Commercial pewter cleaners are too often too caustic and tend to remove the patina. Silver polish is most definitely not called for.

Best
Rogov

Thanks, Rogov. I'll give it a try.

Jeff, Hi.....


I'm one of those people who adores fine pewter. One of the rules is to never remove the patina that develops but to remove only stains that can develop, for example, from citrus fruits or tea. My own method - learned years ago from a rather antique antique dealer upstate New York (I am sure he was 90 years old when I met him) :

In a glass container mix together 1 cup cider vinegar, 1 tsp. salt and 1/2 cup flour. Mix those well until a more or less liquid-like paste is formed. With a soft cloth apply to the pewter, rub genty, let sit for 20 minutes, rinse under cold water and then pat dry with a fresh soft cloth.

Commercial pewter cleaners are too often too caustic and tend to remove the patina. Silver polish is most definitely not called for.

Best
Rogov

I use the vinegar and salt mixture all the time. I have an 18th century pewter bucket I clean with it. I also clean copper with it. Never heard about the flour, though.

The Unhappy Report

I tried the vinegar-salt-flour mixture on Saturday. It certainly brightened up all the rest of the quaich, and I think it lessened the blacking a bit, but there is still a grey veil spotting several places on the inside. Not sure what else to try. It may just have taken its first step towards "that well-used look".