Prevent Costume Jewelry from Tarnishing

Step 4: Prevent Costume Jewelry from Tarnishing

Ever get those green rings on your fingers from wearing a costume ring? Paint a thin coat of clear nail polish on your costume jewelry to prevent tarnishing.

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caseyst says: Sep 1, 2011. 1:29 PM

A thin coating of clear nail polish on metal jewelry or belt buckles that normally cause a nickel reaction rash will prevent the nickel from touching your skin and allow you to continue wearing the piece. Found this one out when my son's belt buckle kept breaking him out into a rash where it touched him.

kmbrmom in reply to caseystSep 4, 2011. 7:09 AM

I second this; I've been using clear nail polish on cheap earrings for forever; it will only delay my allergy for a few hours, but usually that's long enough.

bryan3141 in reply to kmbrmomSep 4, 2011. 8:59 AM

you know, hypoallergenic findings (ear hooks) aren't THAT expensive. Might be worth your while to go ahead and visit a jewelry making web site to pick some up. Last I heard they come in (very cheap) surgical stainless and (not quite as cheap) gold and gold plate.

acexkeikai in reply to bryan3141Sep 4, 2011. 10:32 AM

The problem lies (in my case anyways) that I am allergic to most metals if I am in a prolonged contact (ie jewelry, watches) surirgical metal doesn;t wrok as well as nickel free ones. So clear nail ploish is still the cheapest way to go...

I also have acidic type of skin and litterally brittled and flaked off the gold plating off a pair of earings...leaving me with a huge infection. And no the clear nail polish trip doesn;t work on earings because it ubs off too quickly.

but backs of watches, fasteners, metal buttons... all good

ScottyAlmanjoy in reply to acexkeikaiSep 4, 2011. 12:39 PM

Then you have to go with titanium. The thin coating of titanium oxide that forms on the surface naturally is completely non-bioreactive. That's also why its used in medical implants. Titanium oxide is close in crystalline form to bone.

acexkeikai in reply to ScottyAlmanjoySep 4, 2011. 1:44 PM

Yep Titanium is it but it's extremely expensive too

AbstractDragon in reply to acexkeikaiSep 5, 2011. 7:33 AM

Worth it though.
As someone without a metal allergy, but with sensitive skin, I find that cheap earrings often have surfaces that aren't machined well enough to prevent bacteria from VERY quickly collecting and causing irritation if I wear them for long. So my day-to-day earrings are all titanium hoops, and my ears are never irritated for long.
I suggest looking online- That's where I bought mine, and for cheaper than anything I saw in a shop. It's an investment, but having inflamed ear piercings is really annoying. A cheaper option that might work for you is Niobium. It's not as perfectly non-reactive as titanium, but it's less reactive than most things and recommended to people with sensitive skin.

acexkeikai in reply to AbstractDragonSep 5, 2011. 9:36 AM

Thank you :D I'll look into it, maybe I can find a Canadian company so I don;t pay custum fees.

AbstractDragon in reply to acexkeikaiSep 5, 2011. 11:58 AM

Or you can find someone in the US who is willing to buy for you and send it marked as a gift, if you can't find something that is from inside Canada.
If you have a friend on this side of the border, have it shipped to them, then wear the earrings home when you go pick them up.

bryan3141 in reply to acexkeikaiSep 4, 2011. 8:44 PM

And this is what I love about the instructables community....lots of natural problem solvers concentrated in one area means that not just solutions, but optimized solutions get found.

ScattyCrafter in reply to bryan3141Sep 4, 2011. 10:05 AM

Can't do your belt up with ear hooks though Bryan ;-)
But we get your point,

divah in reply to ScattyCrafterSep 4, 2011. 11:54 AM

Have you tried niobium earring?. They are one of the few that practically no one is allergic to. They are hard to come by though. If you want to make your own www.eebeads.com is where I get mine.

kmbrmom in reply to divahSep 4, 2011. 1:16 PM

I get the worst irritation from my niobium earrings. I don't wear earrings very often, probably because its a pain, but I haven't had much luck with supposedly "non-allergenic" or stainless. Silver seems to work pretty well.

I have a neighbor with a metal plating business, the titanium coating sounds like an interesting option I will discuss with him, thanks!!

marg_nukem in reply to kmbrmomSep 5, 2011. 1:26 AM

instead of metals, have you tried plastic coating, there is one called liquid ruber coating i have seen it at home depot, by the way excellent stuff for coating tool handles