How do I silver fume with silver nitrate like this guy?

**RamblezMarblez** · 03-21-2011, 06:23 AM

http://www.fireladyproductions.com/S...Haberland.html

This is a cool video of making a mushroom xmas ornament. At the end he silver fumes with 2 liquids.... The first is a silver nitrate solution and the second is a mystery solution....Does anyone have a recipie on how I can do this at home?

**ReLo442** · 03-21-2011, 06:52 AM

it says in the description that it is a reducing agent. doesnt say what it is tho

**poncho** · 03-21-2011, 06:55 AM

i dont know if this works with boro or not, but it says he's using soft glass tubing. I've watched someone do it once in the basement of his shop, it was pretty easy, but he was all claiming that you coudn't get the ingredients anymore beacuse it was a controlled substance now bla bla, so Im not sure if he was right or not. this may be helpful -- http://www.make-stuff.com/formulas/mirrors.html

**kage** · 03-21-2011, 07:14 AM

its called silvering, and the mystery reducing agent is potassium sodium tartrate. I would not recomend trying this at home. talk to a scientist, chemist, or university lab technician and do not do this on pipes. its not the same as fuming.

here's a good read http://www.jtbaker.com/msds/englishhtml/s2282.htm

**NorthWoods Glass** · 03-21-2011, 08:14 AM

^^^Good link Kage - that's some scary data!

**Greymatter Glass** · 03-21-2011, 08:17 AM

What Kage said.

Off hand I kjnow you'll need nitric acid, silver nitrate, dextrose, ammonia, and the potasium solution mentioned above... I'm sure I'm missing something.

If you're handy with reagent chemicals, it's nothing too hard, and the chemicals are relatively safe compared to some things out there..... but you need an area for it. It's NOT something you want to do in your kitchen.

Nitric acid is often used to prep the glass before silvering, and the fumes from nitric acid need to be dealt with via chemical hood...

Anyways.... it's not hard, it's not SUPER dangerous... but it takes a scientific mind and some chemical training to pull it off right.

**pipeshawk** · 03-21-2011, 09:43 AM

Dig the snow in the beginning. And the fascinating history of Laosian ornament history.

Yeah I haven't screwed with silvering yet, but there is a chapter in Homer Hoyts' Glassblowing book that delves into it. (I would highly recommend getting this book) It says you need Silver Nitrate (AgNO3), Potassium Hydroxide (KOH), Dextrose, Ammonia (NH3) and Nitric Acid (HNO3). It doesn't look to hard or "to" dangerous, but you definitely need a knowledge of chemistry and alot of focus. I wouldn't try this after a safety break, that's for dam sure.

I've seen alot of pipes around town with silvering. Kinda skeptical on the matter after someone in the chat room showed me this video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gq8C0GknwAM
Makes me kinda hesitant to ingest any kind of silver. I really don't wanna turn into a smurf.

**kage** · 03-21-2011, 01:48 PM

Originally Posted by pipeshawk

I've seen alot of pipes around town with silvering.

those are imports, i've seen them too. you couldn't pay me to smoke out of one

**frillcappa** · 03-21-2011, 02:07 PM

yea, The dude at my one shop was trying to get me to try that import syle silver irradescent look. i think it looks tacky, and dangerous to smoke. im not into it...

**Din** · 03-21-2011, 03:06 PM

"Legend has it that an impoverished glassblower couldn't afford the traditional fruits on the tree, and replaced it with those made of glass". Some things never change.

**ITIS** · 03-21-2011, 04:12 PM

for a good time mix some of that silver nitrate with good old ammonia and let it dry out ......... KA BOOOM biatches hahaha, you didn't hear it form me.

any information obtained in the above note is intended for educational porpoises only (the spotted high pitched variety) i will not be held responsible for any accidental or intentional miss use of this information.

have fun and be safe.

**RamblezMarblez** · 03-22-2011, 05:50 AM

^^^I thought that was Iodine Crystals....I've tried it...it works and is feather touch sensitive. Very Explosive so don't try it. It may just blow your hand off. Vibrations will cause dry crystal to go off.

**smutboy420** · 03-24-2011, 04:16 AM

Makes me kinda hesitant to ingest any kind of silver. I really don't wanna turn into a smurf.

I can attest that thats not too likely to happen with out going out of your way to ingest lots of it. I have been working around silver for more then 25 years now. I have literally melted and cast a ton or more of silver. Not a day goes by I don't handle silver in some shape or form.
I even put fin silver PCs in my water jugs for camping to keep my water nice and fresh. I put it my milk to keep it from going bad without refrigeration and I even have 4 oz of powdered silver in my water filter to purify the water. I even have a pair of socks that have silver weaved in to them to kill foot funk. I also carry some around in my pocket as a hand sanitizer. and I'm still a fluorescent white Irish guy. Only thing blue on me are my eyes. Tho I did get some silver nitrate on my hands once and went out side in the sun and my hands turned freaking purplish black for about a month or so. WAY NOT COOL.

I just read last week some place that the average human ingests about 7mg per day of silver.

**yehaw** · 03-24-2011, 04:50 PM

SMUTBOY, sup homie. mad scientist!

**steak351** · 03-25-2011, 12:45 PM

try puttung the silver nitrate in water and paint it on your point, or on a glass rod

**Greymatter Glass** · 03-26-2011, 08:55 PM

Originally Posted by yehaw

SMUTBOY, sup homie. mad scientist!

WTF.... when did you get back?

Where you been hidin'?

... long time old man.

**pipeshawk** · 03-26-2011, 09:27 PM

Originally Posted by smutboy420

I can attest that thats not too likely to happen with out going out of your way to ingest lots of it. I have been working around silver for more then 25 years now. I have literally melted and cast a ton or more of silver. Not a day goes by I don't handle silver in some shape or form.
I even put fin silver PCs in my water jugs for camping to keep my water nice and fresh. I put it my milk to keep it from going bad without refrigeration and I even have 4 oz of powdered silver in my water filter to purify the water. I even have a pair of socks that have silver weaved in to them to kill foot funk. I also carry some around in my pocket as a hand sanitizer. and I'm still a fluorescent white Irish guy. Only thing blue on me are my eyes. Tho I did get some silver nitrate on my hands once and went out side in the sun and my hands turned freaking purplish black for about a month or so. WAY NOT COOL.

I just read last week some place that the average human ingests about 7mg per day of silver.

So do you think it would be safe to smoke out of a silvered pipe? I mean would that be the equivalent of smoking out of stainless steel or anodized aluminum?

**Aussie** · 03-27-2011, 05:13 PM

Originally Posted by pipeshawk

So do you think it would be safe to smoke out of a silvered pipe? I mean would that be the equivalent of smoking out of stainless steel or anodized aluminum?

NO! Haven't you read any of the posts above? There are ingredients at play other than pure silver! If you want to silver pipes, make a double jacket pipe and put the silvering in the jacket so it's not in contact with anything ... much like the silvering in a thermos flask ... that way smoke can't pick up potential particles if it's inside the pipe and the hands won't pick it up either if it's outside ... it won't scratch off that way, either.

Also a lot of the "silvering" you might see, including the stuff with the iridescent effects, I would bet use low firw ceramic luster paints, not silvering solution. Luster paint is fired on in the kiln, it uses pine oil as a suspension medium and it stinks like Lucifer's arse when you fire it on, so ventilation over your kiln is highly recommended, because the fumes are a respiratory irritant. I used to make pipes with luster paint and it is pretty safe on external application (I wouldn't put it inside a pipe or on the mouthpiece) and can look pretty flash. Ceramic lusters have been used for a long time on utility ware! The glass you see around that has "gold accents" ... the gold will be gold luster, you can also get silver luster and platinum, amongst all the special effects ones. Because it's fired on, it's very unlikely to scratch off. Silvering can scratch off. So instead of mirroring, you might want to try some silver luster instead.

**smutboy420** · 03-28-2011, 01:03 PM

SMUTBOY, sup homie. mad scientist!

Hey now. Welcome back dude its been a long time.

**Islandglass Man** · 03-28-2011, 02:50 PM

This is the formula that I have used

WARNING - use of this is at your own risk - it involves chemicals that should be treated with respect. The writer and this website assume no liability for results.

First method is do-it-yourself - sources for "kits" follow these instructions: Its a 3 part recipe. I know there are other products out on the market. Because of the use of Silver Nitrate this process can be quite expensive.

A. Silver Nitrate (66.6 Grams) to, One liter of deminerialized water
B. Potassium Hydroxide (140 Grams) to, One liter De-Ionized water
C. Dextrose Anhydrous (65 Grams) to, One liter De-Ionized water/175cc Alcohol
[MF plus ammonium hydroxide in small quantities, see below.]

To do the silvering process:
1. use equal amounts of each solution
2. Solution A add ammonium hydroxide (a few drops) stirring until it becomes clear
3. Solution B add to A and add ammonium hydroxide stirring until it becomes clear
4. Solution C add to and A & B and stir and pour into glassware. The silvering will happen quickly.
5. Make sure all solutions are cold before attempting to silver.
6. Make sure all solutions are in stored dark amber bottles, in a cool place.
7. All water used in making solutions is deminerialized.

I was also taught to let these the A, B & C solutions sit and cure for a week or so in a cold room/refrigerator. Don't let these solutions get warm it will speed up the silvering process and do not use too much ammonium hydroxide as it will coagulate and ruin the batch. ( I used a dropper or pipette) This has to be done in a well ventilated area for these are very strong chemicals.

Also silver nitrate will never come out of your clothes and takes forever to come off of your skin. Always wear gloves and protective clothing while doing this process.

This formula has been the standard for most scientific work for a long time. You have to make your measurements correctly to make it work right and it takes some practice.

Bear