Medal Cleaning

[cjmpaintings]

What are some/best methods for cleaning up medals and removing oxidation? For instance the two medals shown below.

Casey ~

[Stewy S]

I'm a firm believer in only treating zinc awards that have succumbed to zinc pest with a coat of Vaseline to arrest it. Why remove years of natural patina? It doesn't enhance their look or value to be "new" looking. Not sure about the SS medal at all & it has an Ost ribbon (I'm sure of that). But I'm no expert on SS medals. Stewy

[cjmpaintings]

I don't want them to appear new, I just want to halt anymore corrosion like you see on the Civil Service medal.

Casey ~

[Landser I]

My Treuedienst-Ehrenzeichen has the same type of patina, I like it and I had never the attempt to clean it. It's a 75 year old award, and so it should look like that.

[Neil Hever]

I would avoid cleaning. Arresting decay is perhaps the only thing you should do as Stewy suggested. I cleaned a ribbon bar once and it promptly fell apart. Never again!
Keep the awards in a room temperature, dry place out of the sun. NH

[Gwar]

I agree with Landser I and Neil.. More harm will come to the relic and decrease the originality / patina..
If a "Zinc" pest has decided to stop by for a quick "Nib" then by all means try to arrest the situation...
JMO of course !!

[TrondK]

If you are determined to do something, take a little bit of vaseline to cover up the medal. The vaseline create a barrier so the zink pest dont get access to more oxygen.