Silver plating kit

[northwest]

Following on from @roofman s Zink plating thread I was wondering about silver plating, I have a couple substantial power supplies a couple good bits of Silver sheet and a pound of Silver Nitrate. Can I just make a solution up of the Silver nitrate and use the silver sheet as an Anode?
REading the kit contents here: https://www.gaterosplating.co.uk/product-page/silver-plating-kit it comes with Silver Electrolyte, what do we think that is, or could be? Would Nitric work as the Acid etch?

 

[voipio]

There's electroless silver plating, just using solutions, rather than electroplating, which might be more appropriate for some situations.

One of the key things is cleanliness, especially grease removal, and a good surface finish on the object to be plated.

Many years ago, I silvered half of the glass envelope of a high powered lamp to better double the light output in one general direction. Pretty sure that that used silver nitrate, together with some sort of activator. Glucose, or starch springs to mind, but it was probably a bit more involved than that. I might have the recipe squirreled away somewhere, if you're interested. In those days, you could buy all the stuff at the local chemist.

Silver nitrate should work for electroplating. About 19g/litre should give the 12g of silver per litre figure that seems to be favoured for electroplating, plus a bit of potassium hydroxide.

A substantial power supply is only needed for plating large objects. The process only needs about 3-4 volts. Plating too fast can give a very dull surface finish.

 

[JEZGUZ]

I've unearthed a book titled "The Practical Man's Book of Things to Make and Do", no date but looks like 1940's 50's but could be earlier. In the section on "Electroplating for the Amateur" it mentions Silver plating along with sections on Gold, Nickel, Copper Brass and Zinc. Their recipe for Silver plating is as follows. the electrolyte for Silver plating consists of Silver Cyanide, Potassium Cyanide and water . 1/2 oz. of Sil Cy to 3/4 oz. Pot Cy dissolved in 2 pints of water, the anode is pure Silver which could be Silver leaf or an article of pure Silver (maybe a ring or similar, my words not theirs). Getting hold of Cyanide products may prove to be a bit difficult nowadays though and disposal also problematic. Things were a lot easier back then

 

[bourbon]

Brenton West, He of the Repair Shop, Uses that stuff in a kit. I have 'spoken' to him on Face book messenger. He told me he uses a kit, the secret is not to keep the wand in one place as it will burn the metal. Try contacting him, he may know more.