Pewter is an alloy, which can make it a little different to care for than other metals. For the most part it does not rust. Most pewter is 9&% tin or higher. Contrary to what you might have heard Pewter does not contain lead nowadays and pewter mugs and glasses are okay to drink from. However you should be wary if you are in possession of a very old pie of pewter as it might contain lead. If the pewter iron has a gray to black patina then it might have lead content.
The good new about pewter is that unlike silver it does not tarnish easily which means there is no need to clean it all the time. Every few years is okay. The other thing to note here is that pewter looks great with a bit of a dusty gray patina. Even if you remove it the oxidization will naturally come back in a year or two.
There are three different types of pewter that exist: polished pewter, satin pewter and oxidized pewter.
Polished pewter is shiny and smooth and can be cleaned very easily with a soft cloth and a polish you make on your own. The perfect paste for cleaning pewter is made out of salt, vinegar and flour and rubbed on the item to make it shine.
Satin pewter has a rougher, more grainy appearance and is usually cleaned with warm water and a mild soap. You can buff this type of pewter and make it loo shier by gently rubbing it with a very fine steel wood. Do not rub too hard or you could remove the chunks of plating.
Oxideized pewter usually has a darker finish and it may be hard to tell if it is made of lead. If it oxidizes quickly within a few months it might be a lead and tin alloy. As the dusty or gray look is part of the look of this type of pewter you only need to rinse it with warm water and soap.
To avoid damaging pewter then you need to avoid using it to contain citrus juice, which can pit or stain the item.
Keep in mind you cannot remove lead from pewter no matter how much you try to scrub it clean. The FDA requires that the tin content be at least 92% in order to be qualified as “food safe” and you will find some companies go even beyond this point with up to 97% pewter.