Make Silver Different Colors by Anodizing
How to Make Silver Different Colors by Electrochemical Anodizing.
Without using paint you can give a silver surface various colors by anodizing it.
WARNING: Anodizing solution is corrosive, so wear gloves at all times when working with it. It is also somewhat toxic, so keep it away from children and pets too.
To make the solution, just mix two tablespoons of sodium hydroxide (lye) and one tablespoon of sulfur with half a cup of water (~100mL). Stir for about ten minutes until the solution turns orange. Then filter the solution to remove excess sulfur.
You can get sulfur from online sources (including ebay) or from some drugstores. Sodium hydroxide is the primary component of some types of drain cleaners. But read the label carefuly, drain cleaners come in many types and alot of them don’t have sodium hydroxide. You can also buy sodium hydroxide online, it’s sold for making home biodiesel or homemade soap.
After you made your solution, thoroughly clean your silver article and place it into the solution. Attach the positive terminal of a 3V battery to the article and dip the negative wire into the solution. Move the negative wire around the solution to give the silver an even coat, or keep it in a single spot to apply rainbow effects.
What’s happening is the electric current is oxidizing the silver and causing it to pick up the sulfur dissolved into the solution. As it does this it thickens and alters the way light reflects off the surface. What color of light is reflected is determined by how thick the sulfide layer is. The thickness of the layer is determined by how long you anodize it. So you can control the color by controlling the time you apply the current.
The process can be used to tint silver items to give them an antique look or simply just to make them exotic colors.
Practice before you do this on something valuable.
If you make a horrible mistake, you can restore the silver by electrochemistry at this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGCx9HZwYBo
Always use batteries for this process to keep safe. Also don’t use higher voltage batteries, you might end up “burning” a layer of silver off your item and ruining delicate designs.
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Duration : 0:3:37
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Awesome display of …
Awesome display of colors.! Very cool.
I wish I could do that with aluminum.
Nice,
Reminds me of …
Nice,
Reminds me of a friend who took a silver bracelet into a volcanic hot spa… =)
(if you can’t afford the bars you can use grandma’s silverware… )
Thanks for the …
Thanks for the reply… yeah, I was thinking of aluminum foil, but was afraid of any possible reactions (as I am unfamiliar with chemistry). I’ll let you know how the tape and foil work out ^_^
tape is good, also …
tape is good, also varnish and nail polish too, then remove them with acetone.
as for the weakening solution, maybe pour the solution back through the filter paper laden with sulfur to try and dissolve more.
But yeah, as it accumulates waste products it will eventually become unviable.
the solution might …
the solution might be accumulating oxidants. I haven’t tried this but in theory you can neutralize those oxidants in betweeen runs by dipping in a large piece of aluminum foil and allowing that time to absorb the oxidants before starting another run.
let me know if that works.
online?
online?
i have sulfur and …
i have sulfur and NaOH, but where did u get those silver bars?
I’m not a nerd, I …
I’m not a nerd, I am a welder though, but I still think that is cool and it’s something you learn in second year welding with Aluminum welding, So thank you
can u make one for …
can u make one for me? LOL. impossible right.
It’s SILVER!
…
It’s SILVER!
precious metal afterall.
those bars are …
those bars are expencive :O
$20 each …
$190 for 10
you can find many …
you can find many sites which sell silver bars online,
I prefer using google for that ^^
a little more …
a little more specific maybe??
Jeeze, that was …
Jeeze, that was fast- thanks man! I love the stuff you do. Your videos are like narrated by God or something too, I trust that voice.
You got me thinking: I dont think/know (but hope) you may do a silver halide vid but, say I made a print on a conductive metal, then applied the charges? would that work?
of key importance …
of key importance is the surface being conductive. So neither method would work.
In addition the surface must be thick enough to grow the silver sulfide layers for anodizing. The particles normally found in prints would disintegrate upon anodizing.
For restoration though, i’m not really certain how restoring the tiny silver particles would effect the appearance of the print…. uming it could be done.
Not for most metals …
Not for most metals and not as dramatically as seen for silver. We’ve had some interesting colors with copper but they’re faint.
Hello!
I am a …
o!
I am a photographer (major), and I was thinking:
What would happen if I did either the resoration or anodizing process to a silver print, such as a fiber print?
thanks!
thanks!
I’ve always loved …
I’ve always loved science, chemistry… and yeah. this is great
Are ya trying to …
Are ya trying to etch your print into the metal?
I know it’s possible, i’ve seen items that are made that way, but I personally do not know the process. There are issues with ensuring the solution reaches the right parts of the metal the right way.
I’ll look into it and see what i can do, no promises though.
who ever u r . U r …
who ever u r . U r a wonderfull person.wish all the best to u
it works on ONLY …
it works on ONLY silver?? or you can uses any metal?? lmk thanks =)
One more question: …
One more question: can you think of any way to anodize a particular part of the silver (other than keeping the silver out of the solution)? For instance, is there something that I could cover a portion of the silver with (tape?) to leave a non-anodized design afterwards?
Thanks Again,
Kyle
P.S. After a few runs of anodizing, the solution seems to become weaker (instead of brilliant rainbow colors, I just get dull grey tones), but I doubt there is any way around this other than making more…
The only issue I’m …
The only issue I’m having is the following. After I anodize the first piece, the solution seems to retain a net charge because afterwards ANY “clean” piece of silver I place into the solution immediately begins anodizing. Any ideas on how to curb this effect? (I’m thinking just leaving the negative end of the terminal in the solution for awhile maybe?)
I was searching for …
I was searching for a few days and stumbled across this tutorial — it was exactly what I was looking for ^_^ I was able to find pure sodium hydroxide (lye) at a hardware store (where I picked up a funnel too), 90% sulfur at a gardening store, and a cheap battery unit at RadioShack… all together, it wasn’t much over $10-ish (and I’ve got A LOT of chemicals left).