Removing Dents from Silver

Dents removed from Sterling silver Georg Jensen Bowl

This Georg Jensen bowl arrived with the edge of the bowl dented and bent as if were dropped (left photo.)  The edge of the bowl was restored. You can't even tell it happened (right photo.) I was very careful to remove the damage without changing the original hammered texture. Then the bowl was hand polished.

Dents Removed -Antique Silver

Removing wrinkles and dents from 18th-century sterling silver creamer

The base of this 18th-century sterling silver creamer was wrinkled with sharp creases. Sharp creases and wrinkles often cause the silver to crack, which was also true in this case. Older silver can also be brittle. Soft dents are easier to remove.

The first step of the repair is to gently push the wrinkles out from the inside and then burnish the outside, gently rubbing the silver back into place. This takes time. There is no hammering or molds involved. It is more like rubbing the wrinkles out of a metallic gum wrapper.

If the silver is cracked, after the silver is rubbed back into place, I used my state-of-the-art TIG welder for silver to carefully weld the crack, filling in the crack with sterling silver. This is at 10 x magnification looking through a microscope. The final steps are grinding down the weld and lightly polishing the base.

With antique silver, it is hard to know when to stop. This is the customer’s decision. A sterling silver creamer does not survive 200 plus years without some waviness and imperfections. I think it is O.K. to leave some imperfections commensurate with its age.

Removing dents from a sterling silver gravy boat

This sterling gravy boat was badly dented largely because the removal of a monogram made the sterling silver too thin.
 
If a monogram is hand engraved it is usually deep. It is not a good idea to remove the engraving by abrasives and polishing. There are two possible options for hand engraving. Adding a small plaque to cover the engraving is sometimes a viable option. The other option is to fill in the engraving using my high-tech state-of-the-art TIG welder which I can also do. The least expensive and most conservative option is to consider the monogram part of a silver object's history and provenance. 

Machine engraving is generally very shallow and can be removed more easily from sterling silver. Removing engraving from a silver plate object would require new silver plating. An alternate option may be adding a sterling silver plaque over the engraving.

Dents Removed - 20th-Century Sterling  

Porter Blanchard sterling Silver Salt and Pepper Shakers

It was very exciting for me to be able to repair this Porter Blanchard salt and pepper shaker set. Porter Blanchard was an early 20th-Century silversmith who produced very high-quality silver items. As you can see in the before photo to the right, the lids were corroded and badly dinged. The bases were also uneven and there were a number of other dents. I had to be careful to preserve the delicate hammered texture in the middle of the shakers. After the repairs and polishing, this set was absolutely stunning.

sterling silver coffeepot before and after restoration

The photo above is after the base of this sterling silver coffeepot is repaired and the dent in the side was removed. In the photos below, you can see the photos of the crushed and wrinkled base, and the dent in the side. Sharp dings and wrinkles are the most difficult to remove.

Sterling silver Water pitcher with large dent removed and polished

This water pitcher had one large dent in the side, and many small dings and wrinkles. The silver is never hammered to remove dents. I gently push out the dents from the inside and burnish the outside to remove imperfections. After the surface is improved it is polished. The highly reflective finish is hard to photograph because it is like a mirror. You can see me reflected in the water pitcher.

Dent removed from sterling silver creamer

The dent is hard to see in the left photo, but it was definitely there for years before the customer finally decided to have it removed. I always work very carefully from the inside to push out the dent keeping the full thickness of the sterling. By the time I was done, it only needed a careful polishing for perfection.

20th century Revere Bowl with dent removed

This design of this simple bowl is designed after the famous 18th-century Liberty Bowl by Paul Revere, hence its name - Revere Bowl. The smooth simple form is elegant even in the 21st century but shows every flaw. The customer had the dent removed in the edge of the bowl (left photo) and it was polished (right photo.) The surface is like a fun house mirror. Look at the change in the reflections.

Sterling silver serving plate with wrinkles / dings removed and polished

20th-century sterling silver is very thin and easily dented. Though it is hard to see in the left image, the plate had wrinkles, bends, and many dings in the surface.  After very carefully removing the wrinkles, bends and marks this small tray was polished to its original polished finish. 

BENT & WRINKLED STERLING SILVER dish

This sterling silver dish was bent and crushed on both sides. The photo (left)  doesn't capture all the many dings, dents and wrinkles.  It takes great care to reshape a sterling dish that was bent like this when the sterling silver is so very thin.

I can't make any promises. After a couple of hours of work, I was very pleased with the result (photo right.) So was the customer. A family treasure can now be used and enjoyed. 

sterling silver candy dishes with dents removed & polished

Sterling silver candy dishes from the mid-20th century are very thin sterling silver.  Removing dents and reshaping the silver candy dish must be done slowly and carefully to push the silver back into shape. After all the dents are removed, the final step is a professional polish. To be very clear: polishing does not remove the dents because the sterling is too thin. All the reshaping of the dish must to done first.

 Dents removed - Antique Asian Silver

ANTIQUE Asian SILVER BOWL

This antique silver bowl is probably from the 19th century and attributed to Burma by the owner. It is an astounding example of chasing and repoussé. The figures were elaborately detailed projecting at least 1/2" from the surface. 

When the customer brought in this bowl, one of the figures had a big dent in the face (left image.)  After pushing out the dented face, the bowl was very carefully polished by hand to remove the yellowed tarnish.

Dent removal on antique 19th century sterling silver claret jug

This antique sterling silver claret jug from India had a long narrow neck. I was unsure that I could get my tools inside the narrow extended neck to remove dents in the belly of this form. By removing the hinge it was possible to insert tools to remove two very large dents and about 20 small dings. The customer was very pleased as he bought this silver claret jug at auction hoping it could be restored.

Dents Removed from Silverplate

very large Silver plate soup tureen before and after repair

This was a very large soup tureen bowl. The base was smashed into the bottom of the bowl. The base metal was very hard so it was incredibly difficult to push the bowl back out to a normal shape. The customer did not want to invest in new silver plating, so I could only work on the inside. It turned out fine, but no wonder I have to lift weights! Strength and skill are necessary for some repairs.

Dent removed from silverplate Teapot without damaging the silver plating

Dents can be removed from silver plate as in this antique 19th-century teapot. I work very carefully to remove the dent by pushing it out from the inside to avoid damaging the silver plating. Pushing out the dent on silver plate will be about 90% toward perfection as I do not work on the outside.  

Dent removed from silverplate butter dome without damaging silver plating

19th century silver plate butter dome had a dent (left photo). The dents must be pushed out from the inside or underside to avoid damaging the silver plating.

Base reshaped for 19th-century antique silverplate basket

This old 19th-century antique silver plate is usually soft enough to reshape without damaging the silver plating, but there are no guarantees. Sometimes the plating starts to flake or peel away from the soft base metal. For this silver plate basket, I was able to reshape the base without further damage to the silver plating, but the customer had this silver plated for a fully restored appearance which you can see here.