Letter 23038

Alternatives for electronic silverplating on shells that work & are safe to utilize  

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I have recently retired as a therapist/piano teacher and want to start a business silverplating seashells as I live in the seashell capital of the USA. I've collected thousands of shells over twenty years and would like to offer them, silverplated, to select jewelry stores, hotels, etc. I was not aware of any environmental impact, but since Sanibel is an wildlife sanctuary, I have a feeling this dream will not come true. Are there any safe alternatives to the electrical process wherein one could "paint" silver onto shells? I'm sure my naivete is showing! Thanks! Karen

Karen K. Richards
- Sanibel, Florida, USA

Hello, Karen. As we speak I'm reading my third Randy Wayne White novel about "Doc Ford", the marine biologist on Sanibel--and loving it.

Anything, including seashells, is electroplateable. After cleaning, the shells are carefully lacquered, with several coats, because the material they are made of would otherwise readily dissolve in the acids that are a part of the plating process. Then they are painted or sprayed with something conductive. Then they can be plated. I would suggest gold because silver will tarnish and the shells may not stand up to the necessary cleaning. But I suppose you could silver plate and then lacquer again. Or you could do electroless nickel, which would be bright but not quite silver.

You might develop all the cleaning, lacquering, and metallizing skills yourself and align yourself with a plating shop on the mainland who would actually do the gold plating step and ship the shells back to you. But you do want to be very careful about any copper or silver-bearing materials you use as these are powerful biocides.

Ted Mooney, P.E.  finishing.com Brick, New Jersey

Thanks so very much for the answer to my question. I shall heed it to the letter.

Karen K. Richards
- Sanibel, FL, USA

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