Clear coating of Silver for Anti-tarnish

A. Hi Larry. Since it was done recently I think you should try to contact the company which did the lacquering and ask them.

(this is what happens when UV protection is not taken into consideration)

There are many different clearcoats and 'lacquers' and I don't think the same answer would apply to all of hem :-(

Luck & Regards,

Like Ted said there are many different clearcoats and 'lacquers' - some of them are very tough and some are less stable. Try to read next article by American Institute of conservation:
http://resources.culturalheritage.org/osg-postprints/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2015/02/osg006-04.pdf
Hope it helps and good luck!

A. Hi Mike, Diane, Stuart. As you probably realize, there is very rarely actually a "best" way. If there were, the other ways would quickly fade out of existence.

Some ways to anti-tarnish silver include organic preservatives, chromate treatments, flash plating with rhodium, and clear coats of many types including e-coating, UV-curable lacquer, 2k clearcoats, and other lacquers and clearcoats. Let's very briefly introduce them:

Preservatives like VCIs (volatile corrosion inhibitors) might be helpful in a showroom or museum case and during storage. Chromate treatments might be good for electronics, but should not be used on jewelry or food service because of toxicity. Rhodium is a very expensive precious metal that is bright and tarnish proof; a thin layer electroplated onto the silver is very effective in deterring tarnish but is probably impractical for large items and outdoor exposure.

Clearcoats are transparent lacquers or paints applied and cured by a variety of methods, each method having some advantages and disadvantages. E-coating is a way to apply an exceptionally thin and even clearcoat but the equipment is expensive and somewhat complex (you may find letter 45245, "E-coating for silver jewelry", interesting). More accessible to hobbyists would be UV (ultraviolet) cured lacquers because the coatings are hard and durable but the curing machines are cheap (UV cured lacquers/nail polish are applied to women's nails by manicure shops). 2k (two-component) automotive clearcoats are another possibility and widely available at auto body shops; mixing the two components initiates a chemical reaction that hardens them. Then there are solvent based or water based lacquers which can dry in the air or in an oven; there is nothing really wrong with these, it is just that "drying" is just one of many ways for a finish to cure and, like every other method, it offers strengths and weaknesses.

For the case of Mike's silver jewelry, I'd probably look at rhodium plating first; for Diane's non-spray clearcoat, e-coating sounds in order; for Stuart's wind chimes, I'd probably look first at the 2k automotive clearcoats first since they are made for outdoor exposure and large items, and have been proven on millions of automobiles. Good luck all.

A. Keep your silver clean and try 3M silver protection strips. In principle, clearcoat can be used only for exhibition pieces. Visit society of american silversmiths website(www.siversmithing.com/).
Good luck!

A. Hi. As mentioned earlier in the thread, there are many approaches based on end use, volume, capital cost, etc. If I was a medium to large manufacturer of jewelry, I would spend a lot of time researching UV/EB (radiation cured) clear coatings such as are now used on the plastic lenses of most automobiles. The scratch resistance and non-yellowing is quite impressive. The equipment for true professional application probably costs a hundred thousand dollars though. See what Radtech can tell you. Good luck.

Regards,

A. Try ProtectaClear by Everbrite [a finishing.com supporting advertiser]. Hope it helps and good luck!

A. Rhodium plating.

A. Try Argentium® sterling or platinum sterling® silver alloys, somewhat expensive but tarnish resistant ... Hope it helps and good luck!

A. Try to make Passivation, such as EVABRIGHT (Enthone) .
Good luck

A. Hi, I am a semi retired paint chemist and busy on a "review of Silicate Coatings". Silicate coatings are inorganic and contain no allergenic or other organic compounds as you will find in the mentioned organic clear coats.
Unfortunately I do not have supplier details but you could do an internet search for "Clear Silicate Metal coatings".
As Silicates are really "Glass coatings" they are hard and long lasting. Application would not require special equipment or knowledge.

A. Umicore has a product called Sealing 691 which provides anti-tarnish and light scratch resistance for silver (sorry for mentioning a name brand product, but I wanted to include that the product I mentioned does not contain chrome).

A. Tarnish-Me-Not will work best.

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Ed. note: If we printed "I tried brand Blah-blah and it sucks", we'd hear from their lawyers. So product reviews will be unbalanced & unrealistically favorable :-)
For this and other reasons (huh? why?) we ask people to try their best to discuss technology rather than brands :-)
Thanks!

A. Hi Cody. Although tin, nickel, or electroless nickel plating might be better than silver plating, yes, there are organic corrosion inhibitors for silver. It may be practical to use VCI strips or chemicals in some fashion to deter silver corrosion. Threads 1734, 1977, 3946, 4932, 5675, and 35576 and others also address this perennial problem of deterring silver tarnish.

Regards,

 Hi Mr. Mooney,

Thank you for your help (and for pointing me to this helpful thread).

For anyone who may have been confused by the title, what I meant to say was "..., without over-plating the silver".

Thanks in advance!
Cody