Price range: £26.00 through £130.00 + VAT
Our Silver Brush Plating Solution for brush plating contains 25 grams per litre of pure silver. It plates fast and bright and it’s cyanide free. Ideal for restoring antiques and covering fire stain on silver.
Note: This solution has been calibrated for use with our Coulometer for greater accuracy in estimating the thickness that you are plating to.
HS Code: 3824 99 70
Our MultiPlater is the ideal choice for powering your silver brush plating. This power source is designed and made by us at Spa Plating and is very straightforward to use.
Silver brush plating an antique match box. To see a guide in our Electroplating Manual on silver brush plating, please click HERE
To work out how much solution to use and how long to plate for, please click on the ‘Calculator’ tab above and select ‘Silver Brush Plating Solution’
Silver plating solution used for restoring antique silver ink well.
A Hannukah Menorah restored with our Silver Plating Solution
Silver brush plating is ideal for larger pieces such as this sculpture.
Here’s a video demonstrating how to use this solution with our Silver Strike Brush Plating Solution to renovate an EPNS fork;
Here’s a list of the items used in this video;
MultiPlater
Silver Strike Brush Plating Solution
MPU
Platinum Electrode
Small Swab – Short
Plating Pen
Drip Tray
Beakers
| Features | Used for |
| Quickly builds up a thick, bright layer | Silver plating a wide range of items such as silver plated antiques (no need to remove all the old silver plate – just prepare the surface with our MPU and re-plate the areas that have worn away); Silver plating electrical components to increase conductivity. Reduces the requirement for polishing both before and after plating. Can be used as a barrier layer for copper and copper containing alloys and gold when plated to a 3 micron thickness. |
| Cyanide free | Great for using in schools and colleges as it’s low hazard |
Silver, probably the first metal to be electro-deposited on a commercial scale, has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and is fairly resistant to attack from most chemicals. However, it is very reactive with certain sulphide containing chemicals, for example some polishing compounds and detergents. Care should be taken to make sure your silver plate doesn’t come into direct contact with these materials.
Because of its inherent qualities, silver plates quite fast; this can be deceptive as the resulting layer soon looks substantial but in reality is quite thin and patchy. We therefore recommend that you use our Plating Calculator to work out approximately how much silver you want to deposensure you plate a layer that is thick enough to stand up to future polishing. Our silver plating solution isn’t classified as toxic and is very easy to work with. It deposits a bright, solid layer that needs only minimal hand polishing to bring up its lustre. It works excellently to restore decorative and household items that are made from EPNS or tin based alloys such as pewter and Britannia metal. You can use a platinum electrode for silver plating, but for top quality results we recommend using one of our silver electrodes. For more guidance on this process, please refer to the silver plating projects that are featured in this manual.
| Type of problem | Possible reason | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| No plating taking place | Incomplete electrical circuit; check all connections. Surface not clean enough. Surface inactive. | Check all electrical connections and clean if necessary. Make sure the swab is fully soaked in solution. Hand polish, clean and re-plate. Check that surface is conductive with a conductivity tester (see ‘Using the Conductivity Tester’) |
| Plating is patchy or is flaking off substrate metals such as steel, nickel and nickel containing alloys. This could include stainless steel, nickel copper alloys (such as monel metal used to replace silver in coins) and EPNS | Silver doesn’t plate directly onto these metals very readily, due to the chemical reaction between these base metals and the silver. | First gold flash and then silver plate on top. |
| Dark lines appearing in the plate. | The silver solution is contaminated. The swab is contaminated. | Replace with fresh solution. Don’t tip the used solution back into the bottle. Wash swab thoroughly in tap water then rinse with deionised water. |
| Silver plating black especially on edges and corners. | Voltage too high. Brushing action of swab not quick enough. | Turn down voltage. Speed up brushing action. |
| Plating dark, especially on the edges or corners of the work. | Voltage too high | Reduce voltage and carry on plating until the stain has disappeared. Light staining and tarnishing can be removed after plating by MPU or ActiClean. |
This EPNS matchbox has been renovated with our silver brush plating process
We have also calibrated some of our solutions for use with the
Coulometer,
which uses its own dedicated calculators and gives far greater accuracy, especially for pen and brush plating.
For more precise control of plating thickness using the Spa Plating Coulometer, see our
Advanced Silver Brush Plating Calculator.
Operating Conditions and Deposit Data
| Voltage | 2 – 3 volts |
| Plating rate | 1 micron per minute (spot) |
| Temperature | 15 – 25 °C |
| Silver concentration in solution | 25 g/l |
| Electrode | Silver, Platinum or Carbon |
| Silver content in plate | 99.9% (fine silver) |
| Lightness (L*) of deposit | 90 – 93 (Cielab) |
| Hardness | 251 Hv |
| Density of deposit | 10.4 g/cm3 |
| Stress | Medium |
| Special storage requirements | Away from sunlight |
| Shelf life | 1 – 2 years |
| Health and safety classification | Irritant |
| Special considerations | None (cyanide-free) |
| Transport (UN number) | None: Not classified as dangerous for transport |
Further notes:
We ship worldwide, except for products that carry a UN classification for transport.
Shipping costs: Add the items you require to your shopping cart and click ‘View cart’. Towards the bottom of the cart page, click ‘Calculate shipping’, select your country and enter your postcode. Then click ‘Calculate Shipping Costs’ to see the delivery charge.
VAT, import taxes and duties: For orders delivered outside the UK, we do not charge UK VAT once the delivery country has been selected correctly. Your destination country may charge its own import VAT or other local taxes when the goods arrive. Customs or import duty may also apply, depending on the product and destination. Import VAT and customs duty are separate charges, although the courier or customs authority may collect them together. We do not include these charges in our prices or delivery charges, and you are responsible for paying them.
Please click on the link below to download the SDS for this product:
Q;
I have a saxophone that requires re-plating of the silver finish. Do you offer a brush kit suitable for this project?
thanks!
A;
Thank you for your enquiry.
If the silver finish is only worn in a few places, then you could touch it up with the Budget Kit, but it sounds like it needs complete re-plating by immersion in a silver plating bath.
It may therefore be the best idea to take it to a professional electroplating shop for silver plating.
Kind regards
Richard Palmer BSc(Chem.) MRSC
Director
Good surface preparation is one of the most important steps in successful electroplating. In fact, many plating problems occur because the metal surface hasn't been cleaned or prepared properly.
Before you start plating, your aim is to achieve a water break-free surface. This gives your plating solution the best possible chance of producing a sound, well-adhered finish.
The following guidance applies to pen, brush and tank electroplating.
A water break-free surface is a metal surface that’s completely clean and free from grease, oil and other contamination.
You can check this by holding your item under gently running water.
If the water flows evenly across the surface without forming droplets or pulling away into patches, you’ve achieved a water break-free surface.
However, if the water gathers into droplets or breaks apart, contamination may still be present. You’ll need to repeat the cleaning process before plating.
The photograph of the copper sheet above shows the difference.
On the top half of the copper sheet, contamination causes the water to gather into droplets.
On the bottom half, the water drains away evenly because the surface is clean. This is the water break-free finish you’re aiming for.
Before cleaning, check that your item has the surface finish you want to achieve.
Electroplating follows the contours of the underlying metal. Therefore, it won’t hide scratches or turn a matt surface into a highly polished one.
If your item needs polishing, complete this first.
If your work needs a lot of polishing and surface finishing you will need to make sure all of the residue from these processes are completely removed before attempting to electroplate.
For more information, see our guide to Hand and Machine Polishing Metal for Electroplating.
If you’ve polished your item with Autosol or used a polishing machine, you’ll need to remove any remaining polishing compounds.
Start by cleaning the surface with a suitable solvent or our MetaPrep.
Next, use liquid detergent to remove any remaining solvent or MetaPrep.
Finally, rinse thoroughly under running water until you’ve removed all traces of detergent.
This initial cleaning stage prepares your item for the final cleaning and activation process.
Cleaning removes dirt, grease and oil. Activation removes the oxide layer that can form on metal surfaces.
Some metals, particularly stainless steel, nickel and nickel-containing alloys such as nickel silver, need special attention because of their oxide layers.
Spa Plating offers several ways to clean and activate your work. The best method depends on the metal you’re plating, its size and its surface condition.
For Small and Medium-Sized Items
If your item has a fairly smooth surface and isn’t made from stainless steel, nickel or a nickel-containing alloy, we recommend MPU (MetaPrep Ultra).
MPU removes remaining traces of oil while activating the metal surface at the same time.
Apply it using tissue paper, making sure you treat the whole surface.
For Stainless Steel, Nickel and More Difficult Surfaces
If you’re preparing stainless steel, nickel or nickel-containing alloys, we recommend our ActiClean.
ActiClean cleans and activates the surface in one process.
It’s also a useful choice for very large items or those with uneven surfaces.
For this process, use a Carbon Electrode, preferably, or a Platinum Electrode.
For Tank Plating and Items with Recesses
If you’re preparing items for tank plating, you can use our powered Cleaning Beaker together with our Cleaner. You can use our in-house designed and manufactured MultiPlater to power this stage.
This powered immersion method is particularly useful for items with rough surfaces or recesses.
For example, some surfaces may catch on a cleaning swab, while recessed areas can trap traces of MPU. The Cleaning Beaker provides an alternative way to prepare these items.
Once you’ve completed the cleaning and activation process, it’s time for the final check.
Hold your item under gently running water and watch how the water behaves.
If it flows evenly across the surface without forming droplets or breaking apart, your item has passed the water break-free test.
However, if the water gathers into droplets or pulls away from certain areas, repeat the appropriate cleaning steps.
Don’t start plating until you’ve achieved a water break-free surface.
Once you’ve achieved a water break-free surface, you’re ready to move on to the appropriate plating process for your metal.
Remember, taking a little extra care during surface preparation can make a considerable difference to your final plating result.
