Everything about silver plating at home

Silvering is a fairly popular type of activity today, which both professionals and home craftsmen are fond of. What this procedure is and what subtleties it has will be discussed in this article.

Silvering itself is the process of coating products with a thin layer of silver spraying. Moreover, to perform this procedure, different techniques can be used, each of which has its own subtleties.

Consider the key features of silvering at home.

• The ability to cover almost any material: wood, brass or copper products, even porcelain. At the same time, not only the appearance of the products themselves is changing for the better, but also their characteristics: density, weight and others.
• High risk of danger. The procedure itself involves the use of caustic and chemical reagents. Prolonged contact with them without protective equipment can be dangerous.
• There are several options for performing the procedure, and it is necessary to choose the one that is best suited for processing the product from the selected material. Only in this case, silvering will be performed efficiently and beautifully.

Despite the fact that silver can be sprayed with virtually any product from any material, it is best to use brass, wood or porcelain for these purposes.

Before you start directly coating any product with a thin layer of silver, you must carefully prepare it. It means that:

• material for silvering is cleaned of grease, dirt and soot;
• if necessary, adjust its shape or give a completely new one;
• dry the product and lightly polish its surface.

Grease and dirt can also be removed with a standard detergent. The main thing - after using it, thoroughly rinse the thing in clean warm water and dry it. In this case, not only the top layer should dry out, but everything inside. Therefore, it is better to leave it to dry for a day.

To do this, take a solution of sodium phosphate, heat it to a temperature of 90 degrees Celsius, dip a thing into it. After three minutes, it is removed and left to dry completely. This treatment allows you to remove all the fat from the surface and make it as smooth as possible and easily susceptible to silver spraying. Metal products must be carefully sanded before dipping into the solution.

However, it’s not enough just to choose a product that will undergo silvering, you also need to choose the method by which it will be performed. But the most important thing is to remember safety precautions.

1. It is necessary to choose a room in which there is access for fresh air. It is best to carry out work not in a house or a closed room, but in a separate room, workshop or garage.
2. It is imperative to have protective equipment. Ideally, you should buy a special protective suit. But if this is not possible, then a rubber apron, boots or sneakers with rubber soles, protective gloves and a mask will be required. It is worth remembering that all parts of the body are buried - a shirt with long arms, trousers, and not shorts.
3. It is strictly forbidden to take food or drink water during the procedure. Together with them, harmful fumes and substances can enter the body, which will lead to poisoning.

And one more thing: if all the same the work will be carried out in the house, then it is imperative to use an extractor hood here. Otherwise, there is a high risk of intoxication with vapors of substances.

It is easiest to silver any product at home if you use a special paste. It is sold in specialized stores, and a separate permit is not required for its purchase. The prepared and dried thing must simply be coated with a substance and left for 3 hours to dry. Surplus funds simply wash off with warm water. After final drying, the product is ready for further use.

However, there are other methods, the use of which requires the presence of special substances and equipment. In particular, they most often use:

• electric stove with adjustable temperature;
• clean containers of different capacities, usually these are 2-5 liter pans;
• forceps, with which the product will be dipped into the solution and removed from it;
• clean flannel or woolen rags;
• pure distilled water, in some situations, water with vinegar is used, but this must be indicated;
• cable set: with power supply and anode;
• ammeter with wires;
• electronic balance;
• thermometer.

Also, depending on the silvering method chosen and the particular material to be processed, various chemicals may be required.

They can be purchased at jewelry stores and specialty stores. Such reagents are stored only in the factory packaging, carefully observing the storage temperature and humidity and light levels.

When silvering with electrolysis, it is important not only to observe safety precautions, but also to properly prepare the electrolyte solution.Many mistakenly believe that the electrolytic coating is included in a separate silvering group. This is not so, galvanic silvering also applies here.. In order to perform it at home, you will need:

• 15 g of silver chloride;
• 1 liter of water;
• 25 g of nitrogenous iron potassium;
• 25 g of soda ash.

First, each ingredient is separately diluted in boiling water, then the liquids are mixed together and boiled for another hour and a half. After that, graphite is used as an anode, the liquid is cooled to a temperature of +20 degrees and the product is lowered into it. Galvanization will occur within 3 hours depending on the material of manufacture of the product. After this time, it is taken out of the electrolyte and dried. Then they wipe it with a flannel cloth, that's it - the silvering process is considered to be finished on this.

No less popular is silvering at home with a lapis pencil. This embodiment of the procedure is classified as paste coating. And it looks like this:

• 2 g of silver nitrate are dissolved in 0.3 l of water and brought to a boil;
• take 300 g of table salt and hydrochloric acid, dilute them in a small amount of water and pour into the solution, which was obtained in the first stage;
• cooking is continued until silver flakes precipitate;
• then the solution is filtered and the flakes thoroughly washed;
• then they are placed in a solution of 100 ml of water and 20 g of sodium hyposulfite;
• the solution is mixed and left until the flakes are completely dissolved;
• after that, the precipitate is decanted and mixed with an equal amount of crushed chalk.

Such a mixture is called a lapis pencil. She is covered with a product and left for 15 minutes. Then, using a flannel cloth, polish the products, rubbing the paste into it.

Silvering at home is a unique opportunity to give a new and beautiful look to familiar things, improving their strength and durability. The main thing is only to observe safety precautions and mix all components correctly. Only in this case will success be expected.

In the next video, you will learn how to silver-plated copper or brass at home.