cleaning a ring

[nextqueen]

my platinum wedding ring is really scratched. if i have it cleaned, presumably shined, will it remove the scratches and make it look like new again?

[buildersmate]

When metal is polished, it removes the surface of it to 'flatten' the surface again. So deep scratches will only disapper if a lot of precious metal on the surface is removed by the jeweller.

[heathfield]

But alternately, if it's burnished, the metal is smoothed out to fill the scratches. Here, a highly polished tungsten tool is rubbed with considerable pressure over the surface of the platinum. The result is a high polish with no metal loss in the process.

[nextqueen]

so can i just go into any jewellers and ask for my ring to be burninshed?

[poodicat]

Keep it clean nextqueen lol...

[nextqueen]

lol, i wish it was, i really need it seeing to!

[ChuckFickens]

OMG!

[boxtops]

..when in hole, dig no further....

[madmaggot]

Platinum is fairly soft so it scratches easily that's why the most popular gold for wedding rings is 9 carat. Only solutions for you (after burnishing) are to either not wear the ring except for special occaisions which is not really ideal for a wedding ring or to take care to remove it/replace it when doing jobs that might scratch it. Otherwise you will just have to accept that it will get scratched.

[heathfield]

Yes, ask for it to be burnished, not just polished. An added advantage is that burnishing will actually result in a slight increase in the hardness of the surface of the platinum.