question regarding wings and cleaning

[theblakeness]

My grandfather who was a Naval Aviator in WWII and Korea (VF-781) passed away a couple of weeks ago and I was willed his Wings along with many of his other belongings from his days as an aviator.

The wings have picked up quite a bit of grime from over the years, and I want to clean them. Does anybody know of good methods for cleaning them or should I bring them by a jewelor. Im not even sure if they were actually made of gold in those days.

Thanks
Blake

 

[Av Fan]

Have a jeweler test them to see what they are made of. Just takes a sec. Then they should be able to recommend something. That is something you dont want to jack up.

Victory favors the bold

 

[04Hopeful]

My condolonces on your grandfather. To answer your question, I have not heard of any wings made of gold, if they were it would always have a mark on the back stating the quality of the gold (14K, 10K) etc. Some wings for the other armed forces were made from silver and had the markings "Sterling" on the back. You mentioned that they have grime built up, if this is the case, you can always careful wash them with luke warm water and just a little bit of shampoo or other mild detergent, and carefully scrub them with a soft toothbrush to remove the grime. The thing is, most wings are made of brass and brass tarnishes, gold does not, not ever. Coins that are recovered from shipwrecks and did not have any algae growth on them are as shiny as the day they were made. If you don't feel comfortable doing this yourself, by all means take it to a jeweler for testing, and if they conclude what it is, make sure to ask how they are planning on cleaning/buffing as they may just hold it up to a polishing wheel to remove the build-up/tarnish. While this works, it typically can also make a lot of detail disappear, and taking time yourself with some brass cleaner might give bette results, but a bit more elbow steam ;-) Good luck

 

[theblakeness]

hey thanks a lot guys!! So even wings now aren't made of gold? Hmm...I thought they were. Now that you mention it...these definately arent made of gold..likely brass like you said. I think what I will do is have it taken to a jeweler to at least find out what it is made of, then go from there.

 

[wink]

Depending on just how cruddy they are, you might want to leave them alone. They will have character and look salty. Guys will ask you about them and there is a personal history there. Although I haven't seen any lately, in the '80s you could buy "antiqued" wings that looked a little cruddy. Looked particular nice on Khakis. I only wear the brightest gold on whites though.