It’s crucial to know how to take care of your pins so they stand the test of time, whether you’re a thumbtack collector or brand-new to the pin game. Finding a trustworthy company that manufactures quality pins is always a good idea, but there are some things you can do at home to keep your pins looking brand new as well!
Cleaning Schedule
To keep their original sheen and avoid (or get rid of) rust, pins need to be cleaned, just like you would your home or clothes. Knowing if your pins are composed of soft or hard enamel is crucial. Read on for some cleaning advice for hard enamel pins since we do not advise cleaning soft enamel.
Your new best friend should be a microfiber cloth. Additionally, any soft cloth and non-abrasive polishing paste will work if you don’t have a microfiber cloth. The important thing is to avoid over-roughing it because doing so could harm the pins.
Before polishing, you can take the pins out of the pins. Be cautious when polishing around sharp pins! To ensure that the polish you chose won’t cause the pin too much harm, test it out on a small area first (you can use a small cotton swab to do this). After putting everything in its proper place, polish the entire pin, but gently!
Some individuals have had success polishing the pins using toothpaste, but if you use this method, make sure to test it on a small area first. Don’t use harsh chemicals.
How to Take Care of Enamel Gray Muse Pins
Never forget to keep your pins away from any harsh chemicals when cleaning, storing, or displaying them. Take special care to prevent chemical contamination of your pins if they are exhibited on a board or hoop, outdoors, or close to items that you frequently clean with chemicals.
Household and chemical cleaners, as well as citrus/vinegar solutions, are chemicals and mixtures that can harm tooth enamel. Additionally, watch out for wood when storing or displaying your pins as wood may contain chemicals that might discolor them. Simply lay your pins on a soft cloth if you must keep them on a hardwood shelf or piece of furniture for any reason.
Avoid prolonged exposure to light and heat if you want to make sure that your pins don’t fade over time. Repeated exposure to heat and light will make the pin less durable as well as cause the color to fade.
If you have a collection of pins, be sure to preserve them separately because some pins are also prone to scratches.
When you adhere to a regular maintenance schedule and stay away from specific substances, caring for your pins is simple! Your pins will continue to seem brand new for many years if you are careful with how you handle them, where you store them, and how you clean them. Do you have any advice on maintaining pins? In the comments, please!
Do you keep your badge clean?
Enamel pins can be cleaned, but there are a few things to keep in mind. Let’s take a moment to go over four things you should be aware of when cleaning enamel pins.
Study the base metals used to make enamel pins.
More than a century has passed since the invention of enamel pins. However, as you might expect, technology has advanced during this time, enhancing both quality and aesthetic appeal. Because of this technique, it is now possible to create several pin styles using various base metals.
Pin enamel, however, was what truly changed the pin industry. In the beginning, only cloisonne was made of enamel. It’s lot more challenging to use, and there aren’t as many color selections.
There are now hard enamel pins and soft enamel pins, making enamel pins stronger, more fashionable, more timeless, and even of jewelry-quality. People were motivated to wash enamel pins by their jewelry-making qualities.
Iron, brass, copper, or zinc alloys are the four basic types of base metals used to make enamel pins. The base metal of your hard enamel or soft enamel pins will never be known to the typical person, nor do they need to be known. Whether the badge looks good or not is what matters. The polished, shining appearance of gold or silver plating conceals the dull appearance of the base metal, giving most bespoke enamel pins a pleasing appearance.
Study the gold and silver plating process for personalized enamel pins.
A gold or silver coating gives an enamel pin a jewelry-like appearance. Gold or silver plating can corrode and darken over time, especially with little use, just like most jewelry. Anyone who wants to wear a personalized enamel pin will be turned off by this.
Brooches, on the other hand, are typically fastened to clothing, caps, backpacks, towels, and suit jackets; as a result, they are not exposed to soiled environments and retain their original bespoke sheen. Custom pins, however, may tarnish with time if they are kept in a drawer or box or receive little care.
Both hard and soft enamel pins may be cleaned.
Most lapel pins with hard or soft enamel can be polished with a dry or wet cloth, and most lapel pins with tarnish can be cleaned with regular jewelry cleaner.
Find more about iron problems with personalized enamel pins.
With enamel pins, there is really only one cleaning problem, and that is with special pins made of iron-based metal. As you are aware, iron rusts when it is in contact with water.
You probably don’t know what base metal was used to make your specific enamel pin, as was already indicated. So, to assist you in determining the base metal of your personalized badge, here are a few straightforward recommendations.
If the magnet is touched to the custom pin and it attracts, iron is the base metal.
The base metal is a zinc alloy if the bespoke pin includes numerous finely detailed cuts.
The base metal is brass or copper if the bespoke pin fails both tests.
All of these base metals, including the iron base metals, can be stored in water if handled carefully. When left in contact with moisture or water for an extended period of time, iron can rust. This is typically not a problem because the lapel pins’ gold or silver plating shields the iron base from moisture.
Before cleaning, check enamel pins to make sure that the gold or silver plating hasn’t peeled off or been scratched away, exposing the ferrous base metal. By rubbing the front of them against a hard surface, you can scratch it.
However, the back of the pin or the nail it is fastened to are the two places where an iron enamel pin is most prone to rust. If the metal clutch is removed too frequently, scratches from fingernails or the back of the pin may appear since the enamel pins are attached to the object using a metal clutch that slides.
Iron pins will typically remain in good shape, but it is not suggested to wear an enamel pin if you discover rust because it will leave a rust stain on everything you connect it to. You can relax if you own hard enamel pins or die-cast pins because they often don’t contain iron-based metals.
The Conclusion
Any enamel pins you may have can be cleaned with water or jewelry cleaner, regardless of the base metal. To make sure that no water or moisture gets on your iron-backed enamel pins, it is advised that you fully dry the pin lapels after wiping them down.
Wear your brooches with pride and clean them whenever necessary because they were made to be used and last.
