How to Remove Engraving From Silver
Many people engrave objects with names, initials or favorite sayings. Silver is a popular engraving material, and it is used for items such as dinnerware, money and jewelry. Removing the engraving on silver is an option if you purchased an item secondhand or need to redo or change the engraving.
Things you will need:
- Medium-grit sandpaper
- Varying measurements of fine grit sandpaper
- Hand sander
- Safety glasses
- Dust mask
- Inspect the object for stamping that indicates it is sterling silver and not silver plated. Engravings on silver-plated items cannot be removed without destroying the plating. Sterling silver is required by law to be stamped. The stamp can be anywhere on the object and state “sterling,” “ster,” “925” or something similar.
- Put on safety glasses and dust mask. This will protect you from inhaling silver dust or getting some in your eyes, which can cause irreparable damage.
- Place the piece of silver in a table clamp to hold it still while you sand it. Make sure the engraving is completely exposed.
- Sand the area of the engraving using medium-grit sandpaper and a hand sander. Be careful not to sand any designs or other areas that you do not want to remove. Use a circular motion to reduce scratches and uneven surfaces.
- Continue sanding until the engraving has been completely removed. Turn off the hand sander and set aside.
- Use increasingly fine grit sandpaper to remove the scratches. Start with grit slightly finer than the initial sandpaper and sand by hand in one direction. Press lightly to avoid adding more scratches.
- Switch to a finer-grit sandpaper and file at a 90 degree angle to the direction you filed in step six. Repeat steps six and seven, using increasingly fine grit sandpaper.
- Continue until scratches have been removed and the surface is smooth.