What To Do With A Heavily Tarnished Medal + Finding Neck Cord

[chrysostom]

I replaced my Miraculous Medal and my Brown Scapular with a four-way medal due to skin irritation from the scapular. 

 

I am going to bury the scapular.  People often say to give away medals, but mine is very dirty looking - I washed off the grime but it's still almost blackened by tarnishing.  Should I bury it too?  Picture enclosed below.

 

Also I need to find a little rope/cord for my four-way medal - I don't like to use metal around my neck.  Where would I find something?  Arts and crafts store?  And do you know what that knot below is called or how I would find out to tie it?  (I can't just reuse the one below because it's resin-sealed.)

 

[Spem in alium]

Have you tried polishing the medal with a jewelry cloth? They get rid of tarnishing quite well, but if you find that polishing doesn't get rid of the blackening, I would just bury it along with your scapular. It depends what the medal is made of, too. Some tarnish very easily and do not respond well to cleaning, while others just need a little polish.

 

As far as I know, you can get rope or cord from art shops or variety places. In terms of the knot, I've done similar kinds of projects in the past and have used these instructions: http://www.rosaryarmy.com/wp-content/themes/mimbo2.2/images/rosaryinstructions1.pdf. They may be what you're after. Scroll right down to the "Making an Our Father Knot with a Crucifix'; that's probably your best bet. 

[chrysostom]

Thanks very much!  I have no idea what it's made of and don't think I have a jewelry cloth.  Yes, I think that knot is precisely what I'm look for!  :)

[Spem in alium]

Thanks very much!  I have no idea what it's made of and don't think I have a jewelry cloth.  Yes, I think that knot is precisely what I'm look for!  :)

No problem :) You could also use some kind of thicker cloth to wipe it. I'd give it a little polish and see if it cleans up at all.

[OnlySunshine]

You could also drop the medal in a small cup of Coke and let it sit for several hours and then turn over and repeat.  I did this once to a VERY dirty penny and it made it look brand new.  I don't drink soda anymore for this reason but it's nice to know that you can use something.  Just make sure that you wash it gently with soap and water to get all the sticky residue off from the sugar.  ;)

[Luigi]

The Coke trick might work - I haven't tried it myself, but it wouldn't surprise me. 

 

The other thing you can do is try toothpaste & a toothbrush. If the medal is silver, the toothpaste should make it look new.

[WillT]

If it's silver, you can warm up some water with baking soda and salt in it and submerge a sheet of aluminum foil in the water. Simply touch the medal to the submerged foil and the tarnish will "come off." This method is better for your medal than polish because a polish removes the tarnished layer (silver sulfide) while using a base solution and tin foil will reduce the silver sulfide back to elemental silver.