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Re-coating or restoring silver coating on antique glassware

January 9, 2012

Q. I am by no means knowledgeable about putting a silver finish on anything but I have been doing some research and reading so found this site. I have inherited a set of drinking glasses that were part of a china set from the 1960s. The glasses are in 3 sizes and have about a 2 1/2" around the rim is a silver deposit with an etched floral pattern. There are parts of the silver that are rubbed off or have tarnished (blackened) spots. I cannot find any information on a way to restore silver on glass. I have seen the Medallion product but don't know if this is a viable solution to use on glass.

Are there people I can take this to and have them do this type of restoration? Or is it not even possible to restore?

Thanks for your help!

Angela Butler
- Escondido, California, USA

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January 10, 2012

Hi, Angela.

Resilvering solutions like that are for copper and brass; they won't work on glass. For this you probably need more like a porcelain paint for china; one consumer brand is Pebeo. I don't think I have the artistic skill for such a project; hopefully you do.

Regards,

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

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January 11, 2012

That is a job for a conservation professional. Best option are members of American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works
www.conservation-us.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Page.viewPage&pageId=495&parentID=472
Hope it helps and good luck!

Goran Budija
- Zagreb, Croatia