Cleaning Medals

[Pete04]

One of the guys at work was given his Grand Fathers WWII Medals. There are three.
He wants to clean them and mount them in a picture frame to hang on his wall.
They look to be brass in his cell phone pictures. They appear very dark.
Any advice on cleaning (or not cleaning) and mounting them would be appriciated.

 

[twincamharley]

clean with brass cleaner and clear coat, or send them out and have them plated.
If you just clean them, they will oxidize and tarnish again
I would think he should have a gong ( silver ) or two as well? War medal/defence medal/maybe a CVSM?

 

[plinker 777]

I seem to recall that Veterans Affairs either had or has a department whereby lost awards could be purchased mounted in a shadow box. I would give the VA a call and ask how/who is mounting them and tell your buddy to go there.

 

[scott585]

warm soapy water and a soft brush, your only looking to clean off dirt, dont try to polish them, dont use vinegar, dont use windex, dont use power tools.

 

[purple]

3 of the standard WW2 medals, 39-45 War Medal, CVSM and Defence Medal contain silver and will tarnish readily. I re-mounted my uncle's medal set about 10 yrs ago and polished them with Flitz. They still look pretty good. Back when I joined the Army we still had a lot of WW2 vets who wore these medals and most of them had them anodized/plated to prevent tarnish.

I thought that we had finished with silver medals in the post-war years, but found that my Queen's Jubilee Medal from 1977 is made from silver. I polish it with Flitz every 3-4 yrs and keep it and my other medals in a ziplock bag, except for Nov 11th which is the only time I wear them.

 

[Komodo]

I would keep them original and put them away. Then buy a duplicate set and have them plated , new ribbons and mount in a shadow box.

 

[Pete04]

His Grand Father was too old for front line duty.
He was from Montreal (I think) and spent six years of the War serving in Newfoundland. I think one of his medals (the really dark one) was for this service.
I have already advised him against harsh chemicals and certainly no abraisives/power tools. LOL
Thanks for your input guys, this is a great help.

 

[plinker 777]

Once clean, wax them in conservators wax (Lee Valley). You won't get any further tarnish if you wax all surfaces.

 

[Pete04]

Thanks All.
Yes, I have that wax I can lend to him.

 

[Leg]

Do not use brasso. It is abrasive and will remove detail. Just ask any old Dragoons.

I used to to mount medals in my spare time and I've used the following methods with great success. One word of caution though. Unless they are extremely oxidized/tarnished it may be best to leave them with their original patina. Cleaning can lower the value of medals. Now in to the various methods:

The least obtrusive is to use a soft cloth or toothbrush with simply dish soap. This may be all they need unless they're heavily tarnished.

Next up is baking soda and a tooth brush. This will normally remove any ugly/dark oxidization and can still leave some of the patina depending on how much you clean them. A very effective method with no harmful effects from my observations.

For heavily oxidized medals I'll dip them in Tarn-X. This stuff works like magic, the results are practically instantaneous. I'll follow up with a bit if baking soda and toothbrush afterwards. I have not witnessed any negligible effects with Tarn-X but use it with caution.

Once you've got them nice and clean you've got two options for preservation. You can use a museum grade wax (I use Renaissance, same stuff used by the British Museum) or you could dip them in a water based polyurethane for the ultimate protection. It will not yellow like lacquer and it's easily removed with Acetone if you decide to reverse the process. You should clean the medal with Acetone prior to dipping to enuresis all grease or oils have been removed.

Try to keep the original ribbons if possible. Originals are silk and are no longer made. You may be able to find some original stuff on EBay. New replacement ribbon is polyester and doesn't look the same.

ETA: don't plate them. IMO shiny brass or gold plating looks incredibly gaudy compared to bronze
original.

Post pics if you can. Three bronze medals doesn't sound right for a Cdn that only served in Nfld during the war. I'd think they'd all be silver, Defence Medal, CVSM and 39-45 War Medal woul be the ones that I'd associate with such service.

 

[inthehizzy]

I'd spend the cash and get them professionally refinished. Did that with my Grandads WWII medals and professionally mounted in a shadowbox. Did it again with his police badge and other memorabilia from his post war police career. Worth the cost, now hang proudly in my parents living room.