This page will list some useful tips about Antique Georgian silver sugar tongs. We will add more tips to this page - and if there's enough of them, perhaps even categorise them. If you have any tips that you would like to share, please email me at tongtwister@silversugartongs.com.
Tip 1. Never stick sticky labels onto silver sugar tongs.Sticky labels can be removed but it takes a lot of scrubbing with silver polish. This has the effect of wearing the tongs more and it can mean they get bent whilst you are trying to clean the sticky stuff off!
Tip 2. To remove sticky labels, apply a little Olive Oil and softly rub it off. Other options are Eucalyptus oil or any cooking oil, or even Mr. Sheen furniture polish. (Thanks to Terence & Dorothea for these tips). Another option I have been advised of is to use White Spirit. And yet another, petrol (lighter fluid).
Tip 3. When wrapping silver sugar tongs to send, don't cover them too much in brown sticky tape. This is difficult to unwrap & can sometimes lead to the tongs being bent whilst unwrapping them.
Tip 4. When cleaning Antique silver sugar tongs you may find that you bend the arms if you rub them too hard. They should only require gentle cleaning. There are lots of ways of cleaning silver sugar tongs. I find "Goddards" long term silver polish is best. You only need a very small dab - on a soft cloth.
Tip 5. Silver tarnishes if left exposed to the open air. If you are not displaying them, keep them locked away in air-tight containers. Wrapped in a layer of tissue paper - they will stay un-tarnished until you want to display them.
Tip 6. Make sure you use "Acid Free" Tissue paper! (Thanks to Vic Bowman for this one)
Tip 7. Finger prints are awful. Use cotton gloves when handling Antique silver sugar tongs.
Tip 8. Another tip I have heard is to use WD40 to clean off sticky labels & parcel tape glue. Haven't tried it myself, but see no reason why it shouldn't work - the best answer is for the dealers not to stick it on there in the first place - PLEASE. 
Tip 9. For cleaning really dirty tongs, you can use soda crystals. Ian Pickford describes this in his book and it has also been told to me by another web-site user, and I have used it myself. If the tongs are really dirty, put a tablespoon of soda crystals into a bowl of hot water, (I don't use boiling water in case I burn myself). Rest them on a strip of ordinary aluminium kitchen foil, leave for 10 minutes or so & then wipe them clean - you will see an amazing difference. Don't worry, it won't damage the tongs. There is a school of thought that doesn't like this method as it can leave a slightly matt, white finish.
Tip 10. When wrapping silver - never wrap it in Newspaper. Newspaper ink has a nasty chemical in it that damages silver.
Tip11. Never put an elastic band around silver. This leaves a tarnish mark on the silver - and it does not take very long for the tarnish to appear.