By now, you have probably figured out that while I’m not afraid to spend on a party, I am thrifty. I’ll splurge on something I know I can use over and over, but I just can’t bring myself to overspend on a small (but fabulous) touch. Especially if it’s a silver candelabra that I need to be tarnished, antiqued and a little creepy looking.
So while antiquing this weekend, I saw some deeply filigreed and tarnished candelabras that I really wanted for my girls’ mystery birthday party. They rented for $20 each — ouch.
But across the street, another antique mall had these two silver plate candelabras — not as tall, not as detailed, not as tarnished. But they did have the advantage of being on sale for $10 each. Half price and they’d be mine in the end? Sold!
I asked the clerk if she knew how to tarnish silver plate and she tried really hard not to look at me like I was crazy. Google to the rescue!
It turns out that all you need to create tarnish is sulfur. The Journal of Fancy Smancy Science Stuff (not it’s real name) said boiled eggs, mayonnaise, mustard and rubber bands all could create tarnish. I wasn’t about to slather my candelabras in mayo, so I Googled some more and someone on the BeadingDaily.com forum mentioned the boiled egg trick. This is super easy and really works — here’s how.
Tarnishing Supplies
- Egg
- Pot with tight fitting lid
- Knife
- Zip top baggie or plastic container with lid
Tarnishing Instructions
1 – Boil your egg. (Here are great instructions on how to boil an egg so it doesn’t crack and ooze. That doesn’t matter for this project, but come Easter, you’ll want to Pin this.)
2 – Immediately remove your egg from the water and slice it into quarters. Don’t remove the shell.
3 – Put your silver and the egg in a plastic container with a tight-fitting lid or in a zip top baggie. Pop it in the fridge to avoid having your house smell like eggs.
4 – Wait. The longer you leave your silver in the container, the darker it will get. Here is my candelabra after about 3 hours. It’s got texture, but isn’t as dark as I want it yet.
And here are some photos comparing the one candelabra that’s gotten the egg treatment with one that hasn’t. It’s subtle, but you can see the tarnish in the candelabra on the right in these photos.
The candelabra is going back in the egg bag and I’ll probably leave it overnight, hoping it gets even darker and more mottled. It’s the hard-boiled egg white that does the trick.
But, if you have a stubborn piece of silver, try something called Liver of Sulfur. I haven’t tried it myself, but you can read more about it here.
Hi, I’m trying to tarnish some candelabras for my wedding! Actually they look to be the same brand as yours. How dark did you get yours? Any other tricks you found?
Hi Lara –
My candelabras did not get much darker, though given more time, I’m sure they would have continued to darken. Part of the issue is that I was working with silver plate (not real silver) and silver plate is more tarnish-resistant. Since I was running out of time, I eventually took a black magic marker, covered a small section with it, and then wiped away the marker with a paper towel. I did that all over my candelabras until I got the darkness I wanted.
Hope that helps –
Jennifer
I can’t get my silver tray to tarnish. How do I remove the protective coating ?
Hi Paula – It sounds like you may have silver plate, which is harder to tarnish than sterling silver. You could try Liver of Sulfur (you can order it online) if the hard-boiled egg whites aren’t cutting it. Or, if you are just using this for a kid’s party, you could try this trick. Try it first on a small patch of your tray to see if it will work for you. Take a black Sharpie marker (thick nib) and color in a section. Then, quickly wipe away most of the marker with a paper towel. It should leave the grooves of the silver darker than the rest, which may give you a tarnished look. You have to work fast and cover small areas at a time because the Sharpie will dry so quickly. Good luck!