A question on My Fathers WWII medals & cleaning.

[John Bowery]

My father received 4 WWII medals and he never assembled them or wore them. I am in the process of makeing them up and putting them in a display case with his photo and regiment cap badge and including the box they came in with the ribbon list. This is for my son and Grandson. My sister just gave them to me this year on my three week trip back to England to pass them on to future generations.
My question is "is there anything I can clean the stars with? (he has two) Also should I clean them?

Thanks
John

 

[Chrisr]

Hi John,

Personally, I wouldn't clean the medals, if all you are doing is to make them shiny. If it is verdigris on the stars then this link might be useful http://www.ebay.com.au/gds/How-to-Remove-Verdigris-From-Coins-/10000000017991989/g.html

If, however, the intention is just to make them look cleaner (shinier) IMO best to leave them as they are.

My Father cleaned his WWII medals, including two stars, with brasso prior to each Anzac Day, and they dulled after a while. I don't clean mine, and they still retain their original condition. I also have his set and they look good without cleaning, having a nice dull patina to the stars.

Cheers
Chris

 

[tonydawe]

John,

The best thing to do is take them to a professional medal mounting service where the medals can be cleaned and then mounted correctly so they are protected and are correctly presented.

As Chris mentioned, sometimes trying to clean the medals yourself and end up causing more harm than good.

 

[OldTaff]

Tony is quite correct....I had my Great-uncle's WW1 medals professionally mounted. They are in a frame with his cap badge and a photo of him in uniform. And up on my "toy soldier room" wall.

Alan

 

[MCPWilk]

I cleaned my father's medals using Brasso and a wire brush in a Minicraft drill before court mounting them on buckram using 'invisible' thread:

I then had them mounted inside a frame with a picture of his Lancaster, crew mates and squadron crests.

Good luck.

Mike

 

[martin tabony]

I cleaned my father's medals using Brasso and a wire brush in a Minicraft drill before court mounting them on buckram using 'invisible' thread:

I then had them mounted inside a frame with a picture of his Lancaster, crew mates and squadron crests.

Good luck.

Mike

Use a chalk and a soft brush. It digs out the detail without scratching the brass. If you can't get a hold of a chalk rock, you can get it ready powdered as a resin filler.

 

[John Bowery]

Thanks for the info.
Cheers
John

 

[Mark S.]

Tomato sauce works well.....................on medals and meat pies.
They need to soak in it for a while.....that's the medals of course not the pies.

 

[martin tabony]

Tomato sauce works well.....................on medals and meat pies.
They need to soak in it for a while.....that's the medals of course not the pies.

It's the vinegar in it.

Martin