Important: Safety Warning
This page contains a formula or preparation using substances now known to be dangerously toxic, such as arsenic, mercury, lead, or cyanide compounds. Exposure to these substances can cause severe poisoning, permanent injury, or death.
In addition, this page describes trade processes that use dangerously toxic materials such as cyanide solutions, mercury amalgams, or strong acids. These processes require training, equipment, and precautions far beyond what the text describes.
This information has been left in for historical purposes but should not be acted upon.
Home › Gilding, Silvering, Etc › To Silver Looking-Glasses
To Silver Looking-Glasses
This is usually done by coating the glass with an amalgam. For this purpose a large, perfectly flat stone table is provided; upon it is evenly spread a sheet of tin foil without crack or flaw; this is covered uniformly to the depth of 1/80 inch with clean mercury. The plate of glass, perfectly cleansed from all plied, an immediate deposition of a much grease and impurity, is floated on to the mermore durable character taking place. The cury carefully, so as to exclude all air bubbles. filings are easily removed by rinsing in water, It is then pressed down by loading it with and may be used repeatedly for the same pur- weights in order to press out all the mercury pose. Metallic iron may be coated with cop- which remains fluid, which is received in a per in the same manner, by substituting for gutter around the stone. After about 24 the silver a solution of copper in cyanide; and hours it is raised gently upon its edge, and in over this copper deposit a coating of silver a few weeks it is ready to frame. It is said may be applied. to be desirable to have the lower end of the