How do I remove some scratches (OOPS) from polished pewter Julep Cups?

[mgdesigns]

I know, pewter is extremely soft, at best. Groom's monograms on one side, and dates on the other. But I had a couple of slips, and client really wants these to be perfect. How can I either burnish or polish them out?

I have 4 more for the bride's monogram and significant dates remaining to do.

 

[tdelewis]

I always try burnishing before anything else. This is a tough one as burnishing may dimple the piece.

 

[tdelewis]

I don't know the cost of the cup and what you are charging, but pewter is not silver. The cost of the cup may not be that great. Purchasing a new cup and eating some of the profit may be a better way out.

 

[Goldjockey]

Those tiny slips are going to be nearly impossible to polish out without affecting your existing engraving. I agree with TD Lewis. May well be more time and cost effective to simply purchase another cup, and start over.

 

[Dave Friedman]

Suggest a highly polished bunisher.... Then hand polish with a good metal polish. There still may be a slight witness. Replacing the cup is an option unless its a family heirloom.

 

[Chujybear]

If you are going to burnish- burnish in the direction of the scratch. This will neatly close the scratch.
If you burnish across the scratch your approaching stroke may somewhat close the score but the crossing action will open up the other side and you’ll end up with a riffle effect.
Because pewter is so soft, try extremely light strokes at first.

In the end you will still have to do some sanding to homogenize the whole area.

 

[Mike Cirelli]

This company makes some good ultra fine polishes.

Merard Luxor®​

 

[simone-cervellati]

I would'nt buy a new one but the fact it's pewter and therefore porous might give you a few more problems, you have a few options, if you want a clean engraving though, you'll have to redo the work. If i Had a similar accident I would not waste time trying to save the engraving. burnishing, chasing (using punches in the airgraver) and a proper sanding or stoning will save the piece provided you have a good enough polisher that knows how to BUFF (buffing is not the same thing as polishing, buffing moves metal around, polishing does not, ask anybody that is good at rerstoring old watches).
by the time you are done the engraving will be a mess, the crisp lines will all be rolled over by the buffing, sanding, burnishing etc... That means that you'll have to go trough the whole thing again, making it deeper and restoring all the edges.

Minor tip: are you pushing that liner or using a bridge? in this case a bridge will provide more control, as well as using a narrower liner and passing it on the piece a few more times to get to the proper width.
Lastly, i suggest you go trough your lines once more after you're done with the liner, they tend to mess up the contour lines and give an overall unfinished look.