Help - How to get a good finish

Hi

I'm very new to this hobby and am really keen to learn. I have only finished 2 pieces that I'm happy with. (Attached) I love both of these pieces from a distance but the photos really show up the scratches and and marks in the silver. I guess working a lot cleaner will hopefully come with experience but I would like to learn more about how to get the best finish as possible on a piece. I'm on a small budget so I'm restricted to hand tools and a rotary tool. Any advice, top tips or video recommendations would be appreciated. Both of these are a mixture of silver clay and silver wire (Not sure if that makes a difference :o)

Thanks
Cerri

Yes, you are right. Silver arrives smooth and undamaged, so work in a clean area, and with a painters brush, get rid of filings which would scratch your work.
Use soft tools guarded with nylon, or for cheaper approach push soft plastic tubing onto the jaws of pliers.
Do anything which might end up unsightly on the reverse, so it does not show.
Ultimately you will need to accumulate funds for a rotary tool, such as a cheap Chinese micromotor, and then some radial disks for better finishing.

Practice with copper first, which is cheap and can be worked and soldered like silver. Sadly you have chosen a hobby which will eat into your bank balance.
Dennis

Sometimes spending money will bring a great return. If you want to learn how to finish your work properly from the beginning then I really recommend you attend one of Stephen Goldsmith's two day polishing and finishing courses before he finally hangs up his apron. Stephen is a master polisher who has polished for the Bank of England and was a polishing consultant to the Crown Jewellers. I've been bashing silver for decades and I learned a lot. He's got a class running in Essex at the end of this month but a google search will bring up some more.