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Curated with aloha by
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
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Re-coating or restoring silver coating on antique glassware
Q. I am by no means knowledgeable about putting a silver finish on anything but I have been doing some research and reading so found this site. I have inherited a set of drinking glasses that were part of a china set from the 1960s. The glasses are in 3 sizes and have about a 2 1/2" around the rim is a silver deposit with an etched floral pattern. There are parts of the silver that are rubbed off or have tarnished (blackened) spots. I cannot find any information on a way to restore silver on glass. I have seen the Medallion product but don't know if this is a viable solution to use on glass.
Are there people I can take this to and have them do this type of restoration? Or is it not even possible to restore?
Thanks for your help!
- Escondido, California, USA
January 9, 2012
Hi, Angela.
Resilvering solutions like that are for copper and brass; they won't work on glass. For this you probably need more like a porcelain paint for china; one consumer brand is Pebeo. I don't think I have the artistic skill for such a project; hopefully you do.
Regards,
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Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
January 10, 2012
January 11, 2012
That is a job for a conservation professional. Best option are members of American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works
www.conservation-us.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Page.viewPage&pageId=495&parentID=472
Hope it helps and good luck!
- Zagreb, Croatia
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