Silver on Glass Variation

[Robert Schwieger]

This might interest artists who wish to achieve silver on glass with a subtractive approach. It starts with a standard mirror. Remove protective enamel with tradtional removers(s), use gloves. After enamel lifts, clean thoroughly with Greased Lightninng or Wisk detergent. Use cotton to avoid excessive scratching of the silver. Rinse well and dry. Screenprint or brush desired image with NazDar 59000 Black Gloss Enamel. Allow to dry 24 hours. Submerge the entire piece in Iron Perchloride. Iron Perchloride is used in copper plate etching and can be purchased from Dick Blick, etc. Can be submerged face up or face down. When viewing the process from the front it is fun to watch the silver disappear (30 seconds). Rince the perchloride with tap water and address the stubborn areas with cotton dipped into the perchloride along with a little Soft Scrub or Bon Ami. The screen ink is tough and will usually allow some scrubbing. Clean the image thoroughly to remove the perchloride resideue (if any) with Bon Ami. Make sure all perchloride is removed before embellishment. This can be matte areas or color elements, etc.

Originally I used NazDar oil base poster inks with their varnish added to strengthen the ink but the gloss enamel inks work well and are remarkably tough. Works done 30 years ago have held up well without tarnishing but one should try different paints as test pieces.

Do not use the "dry" perchloride and mix. The dust from the dry mix can be inhaled and is not recommended. Most suppliers have the ready-mix and it can be reused after it performs its job.

I have used this in printmaking classes and it is recommended as a better solution than relying on ntric acid for biting the copper plates.

This proces is a short cut to "leafing" but might find its way into your porjects and can be fun to experiement with.

Bob

[mgking]

This is a surprise to me. While ferric chloride (iron perchloride) will certainly dissolve copper, it seems unlikely that it would attack silver. Standard chemical techniques for removing silver use an approach where something dissolves a very small amount of the silver which is then complexed by ammonia or thiosulfate or something similar, speeding up the removal. We (angelgilding.com) have a product we are getting ready for sale which does just that.

Tell me more...

Mike

[Robert Schwieger]

Hi Mike,

Sorry I left out the part that the silver is overcoated with copper to protect it ( this appears to be the standard in commercial mirror production) thus the perchloride attacks the copper and lifts the silver in this operation.

I look forward to your product for silver removal.

Stay well.

Bob