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How to remove old silverplate from copper?

How can I remove the silverplate from an old tray that is silver on copper? My goal is to have a copper tray. Thanks for info.

Doug Smart
homeowner - Roswell, GA, USA
2005

You should send this to a plating shop for possible stripping of the silver followed by heavy copper plating. There is no assurance that you will have a useable copper layer under the silver, Doug. Copper is soft so I doubt that the tray is copper; it is probably brass with copper plated onto it for the purposes of smoothness after buffing. There may or may not be a smooth and heavy continuous copper surface under the silver and it would be a disappointment to work to remove the silver, only to find something ugly and unuseable.

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
Ted is available for instant help
or longer-term assistance.
2005

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