Silver Nitrate

LarryC · #1 2011-07-19, 8:27am

Anyone else messing with this? I get swabs with a bit on the end. So far I am getting some really cool affects by applying it directly to the glass hot. Would love to hear from others that might have tried this.

menty666 · #2 2011-07-19, 8:38am

Have a peek at this, they discuss it over on talkglass:

http://www.talkglass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=37563

Not that I want to send you off site, I just hate reinventing the wheel

LarryC · #3 2011-07-19, 9:16am

Interesting thread, Menty. Though I am not too crazy about the idea of silver sprayed while in solution. Nitric acid is not something I want to mess with. So far I am actually applying the silver nitrate crystals directly to the glass. Lots of varied effects from a nice light silver haze to silvery orbs from where the metal has balled up. Really cool so far. A little goes a long way

Crazy Woman · #4 2011-07-21, 6:05am

This thread is useless without photos LarryC.... lol..... inquiring minds want to see. Thanks!

LarryC · #5 2011-07-21, 6:50am

I am still working on getting the effects I am looking for. I will post one when I get a chance.

Crazy Woman · #6 2011-07-21, 7:00am

Thanks, Larry!

wickedglass · #7 2011-07-21, 7:40am

I experimented a lot with oxides and staining compounds in the 90s. I used to fume with and direct apply Ag2O and AgN03, much as you describe. Needless to say, I don't do it anymore. I hope you have very good ventilation, because breathing it is not a good thing. Especially the AgNO3.
Part of my glass training included staining glass. We used AgNO3 to get a yellow, you may want to try prepping by painting the glass and baking it in the kiln first. Then wipe it down before you put it in a reasonably gentle flame. This isn't as aggressive as putting it in a flame directly after application or applying it hot, which makes it outfume, you'll get a nice even covering with none of the little chunks you've grown so fond of

Using a glass muller, prep your paint by grinding it on a glass plate with a little water, to get all the lumps out and a nice consistency, etc. You'll be able to get a really nice blue halo effect. But like I said, ventilation!

LarryC · #8 2011-07-21, 8:51am

Quote:

Originally Posted by wickedglass

I experimented a lot with oxides and staining compounds in the 90s. I used to fume with and direct apply Ag2O and AgN03, much as you describe. Needless to say, I don't do it anymore. I hope you have very good ventilation, because breathing it is not a good thing. Especially the AgNO3.
Part of my glass training included staining glass. We used AgNO3 to get a yellow, you may want to try prepping by painting the glass and baking it in the kiln first. Then wipe it down before you put it in a reasonably gentle flame. This isn't as aggressive as putting it in a flame directly after application or applying it hot, which makes it outfume, you'll get a nice even covering with none of the little chunks you've grown so fond of

Using a glass muller, prep your paint by grinding it on a glass plate with a little water, to get all the lumps out and a nice consistency, etc. You'll be able to get a really nice blue halo effect. But like I said, ventilation!

I have good local ventilation at my bench and I wear a suitable respirator as well when I am applying it. The amount of nitrate I use is extremely small as well. I have a source for the medical swabs that are used for cauterizing wounds and they have a pinhead on each swab. The staining sounds like a lot of fun but its the uneven outgassed appearance I am shooting for

Pretty easy to get an even application by fuming with silver or gold directly in the flame. Were you doing this under a university program?

wickedglass · #9 2011-07-21, 9:00am

Quote:

Originally Posted by LarryC

Were you doing this under a university program?

yeh, 5 years of it, concentrating in furnace work, but we did everything in the program. I'd already been flameworking for 7 years before that time around at uni, 3 of those scientific.

Conrad Hoffman · #10 2011-07-21, 9:55am

I realize that most people are using pre-made silver nitrate, and this site may over dramatize things, but it's still a good read:
Silver Nitrate Manufacturing

This is one place where I wouldn't skimp on ventilation.

LarryC · #11 2011-07-21, 10:03am

Quote:

Originally Posted by Conrad Hoffman

I realize that most people are using pre-made silver nitrate, and this site may over dramatize things, but it's still a good read:
Silver Nitrate Manufacturing

This is one place where I wouldn't skimp on ventilation.

I know some folks who produce and sell really nice 96 coe color that do this kind of thing but I wouldn't. The site IS overly dramatic.