Polishing Plated Copper

Polishing solid copper is not hard; you just use a reliable copper polish and rub away! However, polishing plated copper can be trickier. If the plating is not thick enough, or you rub too hard, you can rub at least some of the plating off. How do you combat this problem? Buy from a reputable wholesaler who carries good quality products. Test a tiny area of your plated beads before you polish them, and don't rub too hard as you clean your beads. Most plated copper jewelry findings have a very thin layer of plating, so you shouldn't polish them at all.