Silver plating at home. Rhodium plated silver: getting plated at home Plating with silver at home

21.10.2021

Silvering of metal products can also be done at home. Such a procedure can be qualitatively carried out in various ways, and for the practical implementation of many of them you do not need to look for and buy expensive chemical reagents. You can prepare a solution for silvering copper products from available means, even at home.

Products coated with a layer of silver, like gilded metal, look very presentable, which explains the high popularity of such a technological operation.

How is silvering of copper and copper alloys performed?

The silvering process is distinguished by a number of features that must be taken into account when performing it. Such features are as follows.

Silvering, as a rule, is used for products made of copper, brass, aluminum, steel and a number of other alloys. Metallic silver is released from the solution for performing silvering in contact with these metals and alloys, which makes it possible to effectively carry out such a technological process.
Light metal is the easiest to achieve with good quality. So that the darker surface of the base metal does not shine through from under the applied silver layer, the thickness of such a layer should be at least 10–15 micrometers.
Silver plating at home or at a production site should be done in well ventilated rooms.
In order for the silvering of brass, copper or any other metal to be of high quality, the surface to be treated must first be degreased.
The paste, with which the silvering is performed, is applied by means of a piece of soft cloth or leather.

Chemical method

One of the methods by which chemical silvering is performed is by treating the surface of the metal with antichlorine (sodium thiosulfate), a solution for fixing a photograph. The essence of the silvering method using such a solution is as follows.

In one liter of antichlor, which is no longer suitable for fixing photographic film, add six to ten drops of formalin and 4-6 ml of ammonia.
A copper product subjected to silvering is carefully prepared: the surface is cleaned to a metallic sheen, then the part is boiled in a soda solution and thoroughly washed with water. After such preparation, the processed product is immersed in the photo solution for an hour and a half.
After exposure to a photographic solution, the metal is covered with a thin layer of silver. The final stages of the silvering procedure using this technology are rinsing the product with water, drying and polishing.
You can also perform silvering of copper products using ordinary photographic paper.
Photographic paper is cut into separate parts and immersed in a solution, the composition of which is indicated on its packaging.
The product, on the surface of which it is necessary to apply a layer of silver, is carefully prepared and immersed in a solution with photographic paper.
The surface to be treated is rubbed with an emulsion layer of photographic paper, as a result of which a silver coating is formed.
After the end of the procedure, the product is thoroughly washed with water, dried, and then rubbed with a soft cloth.

You can also silver copper in the following way.

In 300 ml of antichlor, add 2 ml of an aqueous solution of ammonium hydroxide and 2-3 drops of formalin.
The resulting solution is placed in a dark place and the product to be processed is immersed in it for 30 minutes (or even for an hour and a half).
After soaking in the solution, the product is dried and wiped with a soft cloth.

Using special pastes

In order to silver the metal, you can use special pastes that are easy to prepare at home. Silver plating of metal products with the help of special pasty compositions is carried out according to various methods.

Method # 1

The first of these methods involves the use of silver nitrate, which is often called a lapis pencil. Although this method of silvering is rather complicated, it allows a dense silver coating to be formed on the surface of the metal.

A lapidary pencil is also used as a "tester" for silver and other metals.

To implement this method of silvering, an aqueous solution is prepared, consisting of 300 ml of water and 2 grams of silver nitrate. Hydrochloric acid or 10% aqueous solution of sodium chloride is gradually added to the resulting solution. This process is carried out until the precipitate, which is silver chloride, ceases to form on the bottom of the container. The flocculated precipitate thus obtained must be collected, filtered and rinsed thoroughly.

Filtered and washed chlorine silver is mixed with a solution consisting of 100 ml of water and 20 grams of sodium hyposulfite. The mixture obtained in this way is filtered and mixed with tooth powder or ground chalk, bringing its consistency to a creamy state. Such a mixture is already ready for use, and the surface of the copper product is rubbed with it, as a result of which a thin film of silver is formed on it.

Method # 2

To perform the silver plating of copper products according to the second method, the following components must be mixed:

6 grams of silver chloride;
8 grams of edible salt;
the same amount of potassium tartrate.

All of the above components are dry mixed and thoroughly ground in a mortar. The resulting mixture can be stored in a dark glass container for a long time. Immediately before use, this powder is diluted in water to a pasty state and rubbed with this agent on the surface of the workpiece.

Method # 3

The following method of silvering involves the use of a mixture that includes the following components:

4 grams of potassium bitartrate;
2 ml of ammonia;
1 gram of lapis pencil.

The resulting mixture is dissolved in water to a pasty state, it is applied to a soft cloth, which is rubbed on the surface to be treated until a silver shine is obtained.

Method # 4

To silver the metal using this method, prepare a mixture of the following composition:

10 grams of silver nitrate;
25 grams of potassium cyanide;
100 ml of water.

The technology for preparing paste for silvering according to this method is as follows:

Silver nitrate is dissolved in 50 ml of water.
Potassium cyanide and another 50 ml of distilled water are added to the resulting solution.
10 grams of potassium bitartrate and 100 grams of powdered chalk are introduced into the solution, bringing the consistency of the mixture to a pasty state.

The paste, which was obtained as a result of mixing all the components, is used to treat the surface of the product, after which it is washed with water and dried thoroughly.

The powders from which such silvering pastes are prepared can be stored dry for quite a long time (a year or more), while the silvering liquid has a shelf life limited to only a few days.

Silver plating with heating of the processed product

To prepare a set for silvering, in which the workpiece will be heated together with the solution used, several methods are used.

The first way

To implement the first method, a mixture of the following composition is prepared:

100 grams of silver chloride;
600 grams of potassium bitartrate;
the same amount of table salt.

The resulting dry mixture, which can be stored for a long time in a dark glass container, is dissolved in water (at the rate of 3 tablespoons of the dry mixture per five liters of water) and the resulting solution is brought to a boil. The metal subjected to silvering is boiled in such a solution for a quarter of an hour.

As a result of this treatment, the metal is covered with a matte silver layer. To give the coating shine, it is necessary to additionally process the product in a solution of the following composition:

4.8 liters of water;
300 grams of sodium sulfate salt;
100 grams of acetic-lead salt.

Such a solution is brought to a temperature of 70–80 ° and the product is kept in it for 10–15 minutes. As a result of this treatment, the metal surface acquires a characteristic silver luster.

Second way

You can also silver the metal using the following composition:

silver chloride, obtained from 25 grams of silver nitrate;
150 grams of potassium bitartrate;
food salt;
water.

2-3 tablespoons of this mixture are added to five liters of water, which is brought to a boil. The products to be treated are immersed in such a solution in a clay or porcelain sieve, while the boiling mixture is continuously stirred with a glass or wood stick.

Immersion silvering method

Such galvanic silvering allows you to obtain a silver-plated wire or any other type of product with a denser coating. Silver plating can also be done using a variety of techniques.

Method number 1

To implement the first method of silvering, in which electroplating is involved, a solution of the following composition is prepared:

70 ml of an aqueous solution of ammonium hydroxide;
10 grams of silver chloride;
40 grams of crystalline soda;
the same amount of potassium cyanide;
15 grams of table salt.

By mixing the components of this solution with distilled water, its volume is brought to one liter. Galvanization of the processed product occurs due to the fact that pieces of zinc or a plate made of this metal are added to the container in which silvering is performed.

Method number 2

A paste-like mixture for silvering according to this method is prepared from the following components

11 grams of lapis;
60 grams of potassium cyanide;
750 grams of powdered chalk;
60 ml of water.

Small products are immersed in a pasty mass obtained by mixing such a mixture with two parts of water, and larger parts are simply rubbed with it.

Method number 3

This method, which is called contact, also refers to the electrochemical methods of silvering. For its implementation, a mixture of the following composition is prepared:

10 grams of silver carbon salt;
100 grams of sodium sulfate salt;
100 ml of water.

The essence of this method of silvering, which resembles galvanizing, is that the workpiece is placed in an aqueous solution of this mixture. At the same time, a zinc rod or wire is also immersed in the solution, which is in contact with the surface of the part.

Home silvering of copper and brass does not require special skills and rare reagents. There are many techniques for plating another metal with silver. This is done in order to give it not only decorative properties: the silver-plated metal will have different technical characteristics. The silvering process consists in the ability of some silver compounds in the presence of metals to decompose with the release of metallic silver.

Silver plating at home

Silver plating of metals has its own characteristics:

Most often brass, copper or zinc are coated. Aluminum and some other metals lend themselves well to silvering.
Brass lends itself best to silvering. The copper is much darker, which affects the color of the finished product: a dark metal is visible due to the thin layer of silver coating. To avoid this, products need to be coated with a thicker layer, and this is technologically more difficult.
At home, this procedure should be performed in a well-ventilated area. The surface is pre-cleaned from grease, oil and dust using alkaline solutions.

There are several methods of silvering, some of them require special equipment, others are easy to do at home. The most common method is the chemical method of applying silver.

Chemical silvering

The simplest technique is to place the prepared parts in a spent hyposulfite photo-solution. It is necessary to put things there, on which silver is applied for 1.5 hours, then get it out and polish. To obtain a shiny coating, adjust the solution. To do this, add 4-6 ml of ammonia and 4-6 drops of formalin per 1 liter of the spent fixative.

Another method of silvering metal is rubbing the part with matte photographic paper in a fresh fixative solution. To do this, it is necessary to cut the sheets of photographic paper into pieces and place them in the solution. Then lower the prepared product and rub it with an emulsion layer of paper until it develops on the basis of a silver coating. Then wash and wipe the product with a cloth.

Silver plating when heated

There are several ways to apply a coating to a copper product at a high temperature.

For the first method, a solution is prepared from six parts of salt, one part of silver chloride, and six parts of tartar. A little water is added to it to a state of gruel. It is necessary to store such a solution in dark glassware.

Copper products are placed in 5 liters of water, where 3 tbsp. l. such a solution and boiled for 20 minutes. Silvering itself is carried out in a copper cauldron, where objects are lowered on a porcelain sieve, stirring continuously. The items are immediately covered with silver foil.

However, the method will not give a shiny coating, for this the product must be kept for 10-15 minutes at a temperature of 70-80 degrees in a solution of four liters of water, 300 g of sulphurous sodium salt and 100 g of acetic-lead salt.

Brooch before and after silver plating

Silvering with paste:

A more dense coating is obtained by the method using silver nitrate, or a lapis pencil. To do this, take 2 g of silver nitrate and dissolve in 300 ml of water. Gradually add hydrochloric acid and table salt diluted with water 1:10 to the composition; do this until the chlorine silver in the form of flakes stops falling out. Then the precipitate is filtered off and washed. Next, the resulting silver chloride is added to a solution with 20 g of sodium hyposulfite and 100 ml of water. After the end of the dissolution of silver, the mixture is filtered and mixed with chalk. The resulting paste is used to rub the copper until a silver coating is obtained.
There is another way. Take 6 g of silver chloride and add 8 g of sodium chloride and tartar. This powder must be stirred and crushed in a mortar. The paste is obtained by dissolving in water.
For the next method, the following ingredients are dissolved in water to obtain a paste: 2 g of tartar, 4 g of ammonia and 1 g of silver nitrate.
Copper silvering can be carried out with such a paste. Dissolve 10 g of silver nitric acid in 50 g of water, then add a mixture of water (50 g) and potassium cyanide (25 g) to the solution. To obtain a paste, add a mixture of 10 g of tartar and 100 g of chalk. After processing with the paste, the metal products are rinsed and dried.

Electroplated silver plating

Another method of applying silver is by electroplating. The electrolyte in this case will consist of the following components:

10-15 g of silver chloride;
15-25 g of iron-nitrogenous potassium;
15-25 g of soda ash;
1 liter of distilled water.

Each component is pre-dissolved in boiling water. The components of the solution are boiled together for 1.5–2 hours. The temperature at which the galvanization process takes place is 18–20 degrees at a current density of 0.1 A / dm3. I use graphite plates as anode.

The silvering process is simple, it can be easily repeated. It is not only these metals that can be coated. In order to silver a metal that does not lend itself to silvering, you must first apply a thin layer of copper to it.

Some silver compounds decompose on contact with zinc, iron, copper and other metals, releasing metallic silver. This property of silver salts can be used to coat a metal surface with a layer of silver.

The following recipes for silvering metals are suitable for zinc, copper and brass. If it is desirable to silver another metal, then it must first be covered with a thin layer of copper.

Recipe 1

silver chloride 300 gr;
table salt 300 gr;
elutriated chalk 200 gr;
potash 600 gr.

Step 1... Mix these substances.

Step 2... Clean the object completely from dirt and traces of grease or oil.

Step 3... Rub with a wet wedge of the above mixture.

Step 4... Rinse with water and buff.

Recipe 2

nitrogen-silver salt 100 gr;
cyanide potassium 300 gr.

Step 1... Both compositions are mixed.

Step 2... The resulting doughy mass is spread on a woolen cloth. They rub the object with it.

Step 3... The object is washed with water and rubbed with a piece of leather until it shines. It turns out an even, beautiful layer of silver.

When using this recipe, we strongly recommend that you wear rubber gloves and generally work with extreme caution, since potassium cyanide is one of the strongest poisons and you need to be extremely careful when working with it.

Recipe 3

silver chloride 300 gr;
table salt 600 gr;
tartar 600 gr.

Step 1... Silver chloride, tartar and table salt are mixed in such an amount of water that a doughy mass is obtained.

Step 2... The object is rubbed with the resulting composition. This mixture is commonly used for silvering buttons.

Recipe 4

nitrogen-silver salt 20 gr;
distilled water 10 ml;
cyanide clium 50 gr;
water 100 ml.
cream of tartar.

Step 1... 20 g of silver nitrate salt is dissolved in 100 g of distilled water and a solution of 50 g of potassium cyanide in 100 g of water is added.

Step 2... Both solutions are mixed well and filtered.

Step 3... Separately mix 10 wt. hours of chalk with 1 wt. including tartar and the resulting powder are mixed with an appropriate amount of the above filtered solution to obtain a not very thick mass suitable for application to objects.

Step 4... After silvering, the object is washed, dried and polished.

Wet silvering (immersion)

Well pre-cleaned items are dipped in a liquid made according to one of the following recipes:

Recipe 1

silvering liquid;
coal-silver salt 10 gr;
sulfuric sodium salt 100 gr;
water 100 ml

Step 1... Dissolve the salt in water with frequent stirring.

Step 2... The saturated solution is drained from the undissolved sediment of the silver-carbon salt remaining at the bottom.

Step 3... The objects immersed in this solution are touched with a zinc stick (contact method of silvering).

Recipe 2

"Argentin" (silvering liquid);
Nitrogen silver salt 5.5 gr;
Potassium cyanide 60 gr;
Sulfuric sodium salt 10 gr;
Ammonia 6 gr;
Exhausted chalk 10 gr;
Water 100 ml.

Recipe 3

silver chloride 10 gr;
ammonia 70 ml;
potassium cyanide 40 gr;
crystalline soda 40 gr;
table salt 15 gr.

Step 1... To obtain thicker layers of silver, a mixture is made from these components. Distilled water is added so that the total volume is 1 liter.

Step 2... Items are immersed with a piece of zinc or placed on a zinc plate.

Recipe 4

Argentin;
silver nitrate salt 11 gr;
potassium cyanide 60 gr;
elutriated chalk 750 gr;
water 60 gr.

Step 1... A mixture is prepared from these components. Store it in a dark glass vessel.

Step 2... When used, one part of the mixture is mixed with two parts of rain or distilled water and an object intended for silvering is immersed in it. Large objects are rubbed with a sponge or cloth soaked in this mixture.

After silvering, the objects are rubbed with elutriated chalk and polished with a soft piece of leather.

Silver plating when heated

Recipe 1

powder of tartar 600 gr;
table salt 600 gr;
silver chloride 100 gr.

Step 1... Silver chloride is mixed with tartar and table salt, a little water is added to make a liquid gruel.

Step 2... Store in a dark place in a well-sealed dark glass container.

Step 3... The items to be silver plated are immersed in a solution of the above-mentioned components and boiled for 15-20 minutes. For 5 liters of water, take 3 tablespoons of the composition for silvering. Silvering is done in a copper pot. The objects are placed in a clay sieve, lowered into the cauldron with vigorous stirring, after which the object is immediately covered with a thin layer of silver.

Step 4... The resulting silver layer is beautiful and durable, but lacks luster. To give shine, objects removed from the solution are heated to 70-80 ° in the following solution:

sulfurous sodium salt 300 gr;
vinegar-lead salt 100 gr;
water 4.8 l.

Step 5... Sulphurous lead begins to stand out from the solution, and after 10-15 minutes the objects get the proper shine.

Recipe 2

sodium sulfate salt;
silver nitrate salt (concentrated solution).

Step 1. A concentrated solution of silver nitric salt is added to a solution of sodium sulfate salt with a strength of 22 ° according to Bome until the precipitate that appears dissolves. The resulting solution is a liquid for silvering when heated. Prolonged treatment with this solution gives a matte layer.

Recipe 3

potassium cyanide 35 g;
silver nitrate salt 10 gr;
water.

Step 1... Potassium cyanide is dissolved in 0.5 L of water and nitric-silver salt in 0.5 L of water is added to the solution.

Step 2... The solution is heated in a porcelain or enamel dish to 80-90 ° and objects are immersed in it.

Silvering copper items or jewelry at home is not very difficult. There are many different and fairly simple methods that do not require rare reagents. The solution for silvering is quite available for self-preparation.

Features of the silvering process

Before and after silvering copper

Copper or brass products are usually coated with silver; parts made of aluminum, steel and other metals and alloys can be processed quite well. In contact with these substances, the silver compound can decompose, during which metallic silver is released. A similar property of a substance is used to treat various surfaces.

Brass objects lend themselves best to silvering, since less solution is required to silver lighter metal. Copper or steel with a dark surface can shine through under a thin layer of silver, so they need more than 10-15 microns of solution to process them. Some metals are pre-coated with a copper layer for better reaction.

Work on silvering products at home is carried out in a room that should be well ventilated. Before processing, the copper surface must be degreased with organic solvents or alkaline solutions from any impurities (oxides, fat, oil).

In the process, you will need pieces of soft cloth or leather, with the help of which the paste is applied to the product, flannel for polishing the surface and rubber gloves.

Chemical silvering method

For the silvering process, the chemical composition of the solution is adjusted: hyposulfite (1 l) is mixed with formalin (6-10 drops) and ammonia (4-6 ml) is added. The adjustment results in a silver plating.
Copper products are pretreated. The part is cleaned to a shine, then it must be boiled in a soda solution and rinsed well in water. After preparation, the object is immersed for 1-1.5 hours in the container of the photo solution.
At the end of the procedure, the surface is covered with a silver film, the quality of which is determined by the concentration of silver in the composition. The product is washed in water, dried and polished with a soft cloth to give shine.

In order to silver copper, you can simply rub it with matte photographic paper in a hyposulfite solution.

For this, sheets of photographic paper are cut into pieces and immersed in a solution diluted in accordance with the instructions on the package.

The prepared product is lowered into a container and processed (rubbed) with an emulsion paper layer. Gradually, a silver coating appears on the surface of the product. At the end of the procedure, it is washed and wiped with a soft cloth.

Prepare a solution of hyposulfite (300 ml), 2 ml of ammonia, 2-3 drops of formalin, which is then placed in a dark place. The cleaned product is immersed in liquid for 30-90 minutes, then dried and wiped with a rag.

Application of the paste

Silver Plating of Copper with Lapis Pencil

The home silvering method using a lapis pencil (silver nitrate) is rather complicated, but gives a thicker finish.

To prepare the mixture, 2 g of silver nitrate is dissolved in 300 ml of water.

Hydrochloric acid or 10% sodium chloride solution is gradually added to the composition until the flakes of silver chloride stop falling out. The resulting precipitate must be filtered and washed well.

Next, sodium hyposulfite (20 g) is dissolved in 100 ml of water and silver chloride is added thereto. When the substance stops dissolving, the resulting mixture is filtered and mixed with ground chalk or tooth powder. As a result, it should look like liquid sour cream, which is used for silvering. Copper is rubbed with this mixture until a thick silver film is obtained.

For the second method, you need to mix the following ingredients:

silver chloride 6 g;
table salt 8 g;
sour potassium tartrate (tartar) 8 g.

The prepared powder is well mixed and ground in a mortar. The mixture is stored in a container with dark glass. Immediately before use, it must be diluted in water to the state of a liquid paste, with which the previously cleaned part is rubbed.

The following substances are mixed and dissolved in water to the state of a liquid slurry:

tartar 4 g;
ammonia 2 g;
lapis pencil (silver nitrate) 1 g.

The finished mixture is applied to the fabric and rubbed on the metal surface until a shine is obtained.

Prepare and carefully filter the composition from the mixture:

silver nitrate 10 g;
potassium cyanide 25 g;
water 100 g.

A lapis pencil (silver nitrate) is dissolved in 50 g of water, a solution of potassium cyanide and 50 g of distilled water are added to the resulting composition.

The resulting substance is mixed with a mixture of 10 g of tartar and 100 g of elutriated chalk into a liquid slurry. Metal products are treated with the paste, after which they are rinsed with cold water and dried.

The use of a powder formulation at home has advantages over liquid solutions. The powder has a longer shelf life; in a dark room it retains its properties for more than a year. Liquid solutions have a shelf life of several days.

Silver plating by heating

It is mixed and diluted with water until a creamy consistency is obtained:

silver chloride 100 g;
tartar 600 g;
table salt 600 g.

The finished composition is tightly corked in a brown glass vessel and placed in a dark place.

For silvering, a small amount of the resulting mixture is dissolved in water and brought to a boil, where copper parts are processed for 15-20 minutes. The silvering process is carried out in a copper pot, where objects are lowered in a porcelain sieve. The solution is prepared at the rate of 3 tbsp. spoons of the mixture for 5 liters of water.

The silver coating is matte and the following ingredients are prepared to add shine:

water 4.8 l;
sulphate sodium salt 300 g;
vinegar-lead salt 100 g.

When the solution is heated to 70-80 degrees, lead sulphide is released. The parts are lowered into the boiler for 10-15 minutes and at the end the metal surface becomes shiny.

Silver chloride, obtained from 25 g of silver nitrate, is mixed with tartar (150 g), table salt and water until a liquid slurry is made. The finished mixture is contained in a dark container.

Silvering is done in a five-liter enamel pot, where water is poured and brought to a boil. 2-3 tbsp are added to the container. tablespoons of a mixture that does not completely dissolve. Copper parts are processed in a boiling solution in a sieve of clay or porcelain, while stirring them with a glass or wooden stick. For a second procedure, a new mixture is added to the boiler.

Silver plating by immersion in solution.

To obtain a denser film of silver, the following solution is made at home.

ammonia 70 g;
silver chloride 10 g;
crystalline soda 40 g;
potassium cyanide 40 g;
table salt 15 g.

All these substances are mixed and distilled water is added to a volume of 1 liter. Metal parts are lowered into the container at the same time as a piece of zinc or mounted on a zinc plate.

To prepare the solution, a composition is made from a mixture:

silver nitrate salt 11 g;
potassium cyanide 60 g;
elutriated chalk 750 g;
water 60 g.

Take one part of the mixture and add two parts of distilled water, immerse a metal part in the resulting paste. Large objects can be wiped with a sponge or cloth soaked in solution. At the end, the product is rubbed with elutriated chalk and polished with a piece of leather.

Contact method of silvering

carbon silver salt 10 g;
sodium sulfate salt 100 g;
water 100 g.

The substances are mixed and dissolved in water, stirring constantly during the process. The prepared solution is poured off, filtering off the precipitate. The products are dipped into a container with a solution, where they come into contact with a zinc rod.

Video: Silvering in solution

Waste hyposulfite (fixer) used in photography, and no longer suitable for fixing photographic film, can be used for silvering copper parts. This process is simple and easy to do at home. To do this, the copper part must be cleaned to a shine, then boiled in a soda solution and rinsed abundantly with water. After that, the part is lowered into a container with hyposulfite. The quality of home silvering directly depends on the concentration of silver in the solution. After a while, you will notice a silver deposit on the part. At the end of the process, the part is taken out of the container, washed with water, dried and polished with a dry soft cloth.

Chemical silvering methods:

1. Sheets of matte photographic paper "Unibrom" are cut into pieces and dipped in a solution of fixing salt diluted in the volume of water indicated on the package.

The part, cleaned to a shine and degreased, is dipped into this solution and rubbed with an emulsion layer of paper, during which a dense layer of silver forms on the surface of the part. The part is washed with warm water and wiped with a dry cloth.

2. Add 1-2 ml of ammonia and 2-3 drops of formalin to 300 ml of spent hyposulfite (this solution is stored and worked with it only in the dark).

The part cleaned to a shine and degreased is dipped into the solution for 30-90 minutes, after which it is washed in warm water, dried and wiped with a soft cloth.

Silvering paste

Copper, bronze, brass, copper-plated iron parts can be silver-plated using pastes. Here are some of their recipes:

1. To 300 ml of distilled water or water obtained from ice of household refrigerators, add 2 g of silver nitrate (lapis) and add a 10% sodium chloride solution to the solution until the precipitation of silver chloride stops. This precipitate is washed several times in running water.

Separately, 20 g of hyposulfite and 2 g of ammonium chloride (ammonia) are dissolved in 100 ml of distilled water. Then silver chloride is added to the resulting solution in small doses until it stops dissolving. The resulting solution is filtered and mixed with finely ground chalk to a thick sour cream.

The degreased part is rubbed with a paste using cotton wool or gauze until a layer of silver forms on its surface, after which the part is washed with water and wiped with a rag.

2. A polished and degreased part is rubbed with a cloth on which a paste of the following composition has been previously applied:

Silver chloride - 6 g.
Table salt - 8 g.
Sour potassium tartrate (tartar) - 8 g.

These substances are ground in a mortar and stored in a dark container. Before use, the mixture is diluted with distilled water to obtain a liquid paste. When the part is coated with a layer of silver, it is rinsed in water and rubbed to a shine with a soft flannel cloth.

3. Pour 2 g of ammonia, 4 g of tartar and 1 g of silver nitrate (lapis) into the container, dilute with distilled water until a semi-liquid gruel is obtained, then rub the polished and degreased part with a cloth with paste applied to it until a silver shine is obtained.