sterling silver plaque
by Salvador Dali.
This item became a small restoration project for me.
The plaque had a thumb-sized stain seen in the picture to the right. The stain turned out to be tarnish. When the tarinsh was removed, the shiny silver underneath was exposed, which was in contrast to the dull appearance of the rest of the piece.
It appeared that the rest of the piece was lacquered. I decided to remove the lacquer so that the cleaned area would be less obvious. I separately tried vinegar, then acetone, and finally mineral spirits; the combined effect was the eventual removal of the lacquer.
The original stained area shows some residual pitting which may be repaired by a professional.
The plaque was attached to the original plexiglass by rubber pads. After removing and cleaning the plaque, I decided to replace the plexiglass with a brand new tinted piece of plexiglass.
I avoided removing the old label from the original plexiglass by cutting the plexiglass down around it and mounting it to the rear of the new plexiglass with velcro.
The cleaned plaque was securely attached to the new plexiglass with two strips of velcro.
The chrome frame shows significant pitting, but has been left as-is.
There is also a slight pinch in the raised border of the plaque just to the right of the stained area. I think that a previous owner tried to pry the plaque from the plexiglass by digging fingers under the plaque and using the thumb on the front as leverage. The thumb print eventually ate through the lacquer, creating the stained/pitted area.
The pictures below are of the item after restoration. In its present condition, it is likely worth about $600.
