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Q&As since 1989


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Resilvering plateware

I am trying to repair worn spots on silver tea pots, etc.. I have found an old formula that I have tried with no success. Can you please help? Also can this (or a solution that works) be used to apply silver over steel? Formula: .5oz silver chloride, ground together with 1.5 oz sodium chloride. Mixed with 1 oz cream of tarter. Mix with water to form paste and apply with clean soft cloth.

Mark R [last name deleted for privacy by Editor]
- Malvern, Pennsylvania
1999

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Dear Mark, Your recipe it's correct, but thats is a old method for plating silver. You can try this old recipe. silver chloride 10 gr/l, NaCl 10 gr/l, slaked lime 15 gr/l and what we called in Sweden pottaska 20 gr/l. Mixed with water to a dough. I hope you can translate pottaska, good luck. Regards Anders

Anders Sundman
4th Generation Surface Engineering
Consultant - Arvika,
Sweden
1999

I recently saw a formula from Anders Sundman detailing a recipe for covering copper or brass.The recipe did not say how to apply the 'dough' to the piece. I would appreciate any further comments on the subject

Jack Templeman
shop employee - Slidell, Louisiana USA
April 11, 2008

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April 20, 2008

Hi, Jack. Anders is one of the site's most helpful responders, but English is his 2nd language. My suspicion is that this mix won't come out as thick and heavy as you might think :-)

It's probably a paste, rather than a dough, and I would interpret that it is to be applied with a clean soft cloth as Mark R wrote.

Be aware that you can buy premade resilvering solutions under a number of different commercial names. Please see our Resilvering at Home FAQ.

Regards,

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey