How do you clean pins

First let me start by saying I am a very lucky woman. My home recently was flooded by Sandy (salt water)on top of that there may have been sewage in the mix. (I know, eww yuck). I have my family, dog, and photo albums. We did lose our home. While my pins are important they are secondary to my people. I know that I am very far behind in this request, but any help would be appreciated. Is there anything besides warm water and a little soap? Any of my pins that were submerged now have a white residue over them and when I try to take that off the paint and such comes with it. PLMK and a belated Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas and wishing all a very Happy and Blessed New Year.

Anne
awpanda@aol.com

I am so sorry to read about what you have lost. Especially during this time of year. I would suggest (since there might have been sewage) taking a disinfecting wipe to the pins as well. And once you clean them, dry them off asap so they don't rust.

I am very sorry to hear about your losses and glad to hear that your family is doing well. I use white vinegar to clean off the white stuff.
Have a lovely and joyful New Year 2013.

I use Barkeeper's Friend and a sponge. It is in the cleaner area near Comet and such. It is a non-abrasive powder and pretty inexpensive. I actually use this stuff for a lot of cleaning projects.

I'm sorry to hear about your home! I am glad to hear that your people and your dog are okay, though

May I suggest a Mr. Clean magic eraser? It's a cardboard based sponge that basically gets anything off of everything for me I would recommend light scrubbing though, to prevent scratches. All you do is run it under water, and it's activated! No harsh chemicals or solvents.

Best of luck!

Thank you one and all. I will give these ideas a try. I wish all the wonderful pin people a Joyous and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

such good question

Just wondering if anyone had any other suggestions for cleaning pins? Or if the suggestions given here were tried with any success? I recently got a pin that I've wanted for quite a while, but the back has a lot of black on it and the front could use a good cleaning as well but I'm really afraid of damaging it.

I'm so sorry to hear but glad you, family, and dog are ok!
How rude of Sandy to damage your pins..grrrr

Be real gentle with a magic eraser on painted/silk-screened pins (like the words 'El Capitan' on DSF marquees for example). Magic eraser is basically a really, REALLY fine grain sandpaper. It will remove paint off the pins if used long enough (a few gentle passes won't hurt it though). If it's a really shiny pin, it might reduce the shine a little too.

I've never had a problem with Windex and a soft paper towel so far. Every now and then I get a pin with some weird brown marks/chemicals on the back (in one case, it was actually wet and it seemed to be coming out from under the pin post). I assume this is something left over from the plating process (the liquid bath they are put in to coat them with the shiny metal) (these are new pins that were just released), but it can get kind of messy when it gets on your fingers and then all over the pin. I can scrub the back of a pin with the paper towel/Windex pretty vigorously without harming it. I'm a little more careful on the front, but nothing bad has happened yet.

Anyone ever try a sonic jewelry cleaner? Might be a good option, especially for pins that have already been submerged in dirty water. Just not sure if the chemicals used would harm them (being meant for jewelry I'd assume not, but I'd test it on a pin you don't care about first. ) I always remember how well those can clean an old watch band.

I spit on mine....
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just kidding

As long as there are no silk-screened/painted elements, a solution of distilled water with about 1/4 vinegar should work well, because it sounds like the white residue is likely salt residue. Then wipe it with just distilled water to remove any vinegar, and dry it. I like to use those little cleaning cloths for eyeglasses because they won't scratch.

Alright so it sounds like a water and vinegar solution is a good, non-abrasive cleaner. Would this work on backs of pins that have gone black, too?

HiddenMickeys said:

Alright so it sounds like a water and vinegar solution is a good, non-abrasive cleaner. Would this work on backs of pins that have gone black, too?

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I haven't tried it, but I suspect that a vinegar solution wouldn't help with this. I would try Turtle Wax Polishing Compound for this, but use just a tiny bit on a soft cloth, using circular motions. I've also used this to help with light scratches on the front of the pin, and for a pin where the gold elements were all discoloured (they're gold again now). I read about using Turtle Wax somewhere here on the forum.