Re: [ATM] silvering vs mercury: Another Question: Silver removal

[Kevin MIchael Zabbo <chaosopher23@yahoo.com>]

I don't have a silver coating to experiment with, so
I'll ask something about the removal of a silver
coating.

Will PC board etchant remove silver from glass?

Kevin of Eastern Iowa
Seeker of the Darkness

--- Mark Holm <mdholm@telerama.com> wrote:

> Not only is mercury toxic, but I have never heard of
> anybody using it to
> coat a front surface mirror.
> 
> The chemicals needed for silvering are not too
> exotic, but there are
> some hazards.  The worst is probably nitric acid. 
> Bad stuff if you get
> it on your skin and don't get it off quickly.  Very,
> very, very bad in
> your eyes.  Also, it can start fires in rags or
> paper if not diluted.
> 
> Cleanliness is all important in silvering, as is not
> doing any of the
> work in metal containers.  Glass containers are
> best, ceramic, or
> enameled steel with no chips in the enamel or raw
> edges will work.
> Metal containers of any kind, except perhaps for
> gold or platinum, are
> no good.  Few of us have gold or platinum
> containers, so practically,
> metal is out.
> 
> There are silvering instructions on line.  I don't
> have any bookmarks to
> them though.
> 
> It is somewhat difficult to get the glass clean
> enough for the silver to
> stick reliably.  It has to be really clean.  The
> instructions will give
> some guidance.  Acetone will get off most of the
> organic material (bits
> of pitch and hand oils), but that isn't clean
> enough.  The most common
> method is after a couple of acetone rinses, rinse
> once with distilled
> water, then pour concentrated nitric acid on the
> mirror and swab it
> lightly with cotton wool soaked in concentrated
> nitric acid.
> (Afterwards, put the cotton wool in a large
> container of water + baking
> soda.  Cotton soaked in nitric acid is dangerous.) 
> Of course you have
> to wear rubber gloves and safety goggles.  After the
> nitric acid wash,
> rinse several times with distilled water and do not
> let the mirror
> surface dry out again until after the silver is
> deposited.  Keep it
> under distilled water and do not touch the surface
> with your skin..
> (The water must be distilled or deionized.  Ordinary
> drinking water is
> almost certainly not pure enough.)
> 
> The nitric acid used for cleaning has to be fully
> concentrated, or it
> won't get the glass clean enough.  It is quite
> reactive and corrosive
> when this strong.  Like I said above, it is not
> stuff to mess around
> with.  Make sure you know what you are doing, and
> have the right
> equipment and materials.
> 
> There are fellows on this list that have done
> silvering recently.  It
> has been a long long time since I did it.  When it
> works right, it is a
> pretty magical process.
> 
> Mark Holm
> 
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> 


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