Hehe, I learned that the hard way last night. I found an old thread that mentioned bleach, vinegar, and egg yolks (for the sulfur, I guess?) and decided to get all science experiment-y. (Including combining vinegar and bleach at one point, before realizing that it might give off toxic fumes.)

I dropped two shiny bangle/cuff bracelets (no idea what kind of metal...aluminum, maybe?) and two thin metal (tin?) earings in a jar of bleach. 20 minutes later, the bracelets were untouched, one of the earrings had developed a lovely copperish patina, and one of the earrings was severely rusted to the point that it was falling apart! I thought it was weird that two of the exact same earrings reacted so differently.

So, bleach did nothing for the bracelets. Neither did vinegar. I don't know what kind of metal this is, but it's apparently untouchable. I've had them in a sealed jar with egg yolks since last night and they're just starting to develop some rust-like color around the edges.

I think I might just go with the shoe polish.